Imperfect
by Garnot
Summary: Are we all who we believe to be? Are things really what they seem to be? When one dwells into the make-up of the world, the true nightmare becomes a reality. Welcome to this brave new world.
1. Prologue

Act zero: Prologue

October11, 2018. 10:45 am 

Unknown location

"Computer," A dark and ominous voice rang from somewhere in the darkness, "access files, codenamed Apogee." The dark voice said rather inhumanly, as cold and distant as ice. Metallic echoes adorned it. The very air turned frigid around.

No floor, no ceiling, no walls, naught but a bottomless void, black, empty, and lifeless. In the middle of the black abyss stood a humanoid shape, a thick cloud of black haze surrounded its essence, shrouding all but the brightly shinning leer. Glowing Sapphire lights straight from the deepest pits of Hell itself.

The black void was suddenly lit by a screen that stood larger than a movie theater's, casting an ominous shadow into that black endless abyss. The figure looked up, eyes glowing with renewed interest, dancing to an unheard rhythm. Its leer remained firmly planted, barely silhouetting over its black featureless visage.

The poor computer struggled, whined and begging for an end to its cursed existence. It growled and crackled with malcontent and unfathomable suffering, but it continued on with its directive nonetheless. Five minutes since the moment it had been activated, the computer finished loading the last of the mysterious files it had kept safe for untold number of years. The machine seemed to sigh with relief as the hardest part of its job was complete. Its white screen turned pitch dark, nothing but a set of four medium sized white dots danced to a mechanical beat. Five or six seconds later, the screen returned to its normal state, lighting up like the sun in the early morn. It again whined and begged for a respite as monstrous amounts of data where imprinted upon it. Numbers, words, blueprints, and other general information displayed in such archaic fashion, only a code cracker could possibly understand.

The machine again sighed, its job complete for the second time. Its mission however, was far from over. "Warning," it called out, "corrupted data has been established. Caution is greatly advised."

The ominous being exhaled deeply. "Show data that is not corrupted." It called out in a firm and asserting tone.

"Acknowledged!" The computer replied. Servos and its other innermost components whined and cringed from old age and misuse. It hesitated for a second, for it knew what was coming. It knew that the end might be near. At least it would be a good way to cease functions. It would be a glorious end indeed.

The screen lit up once more, running through hundreds upon hundreds of files and folders, most corrupted beyond repair. After several minutes of frantic scanning, the computer came to an abrupt stop. The highlighted file was the only one undamaged and still readable. The folder was labeled 'Sysoles' and it was dated to October 10, of 2012.

"Open file." The being said rather bluntly, tone filled with renewed interest and slight concern.

"Acknowledged." The computer once again replied. Yes, it was beginning to understand what was coming. It foresaw the end before it happened, an end it would soon meet. It had no reason to cease existence, even if it had been abandoned and forgotten so long ago. No, it had no reason to cease existence. It still had a task to complete. The project needed to survive at all cost...

October 11, 10:45 am

Jubilife general hospital

Edgar

I tossed and turned viciously, pain an almost an unbearable thing. Even if I wanted to deny it, I couldn't. The wounds throbbed horribly; the pain was too much to bear. I was eighteen and just about ready to die...

How did it come to this?

It all started last night… I will never forget that night…

October 10 2018. 11:00 pm

Jubilife central park

I walked through the shadowy park, just like every other night. I had done this for as long as I could feasibly remember, and in all honesty, I wasn't about to change it. The only thoughts in my mind were the rather empty promises of a warm bed and a night's rest. Whether foolhardy or naïve, I hoped to have a deep and relaxing rest before getting up for school and work. Whether by choice or not, I half blindly walked down the barely lit walkway. Around me were deep and menacing shadows, deep and seemingly endless rows of large trees and hedges. The wind blew trough the plants with a gentle breeze, the leaves and branches rustled to it. Walking through the park used to unnerve me, but that had long passed. Nowadays, I didn't even bother to look ahead; I knew the path home well. During my walks, time seemed to be irrelevant. In all honesty, I couldn't care less about time, for it was during these long walks that I found the closest thing to meditation and peace. Normal thoughts, happy thoughts, disturbing thoughts, all were present. I often didn't want to think about anything bad, but I couldn't. Things were just too damn depressing. It wasn't uncommon to hear about gruesome crimes, armed conflicts, straw man politics, terrorism, and the usual puritan propaganda blasted trough the airwaves whenever it became both possible and profitable. As of late, things had become really bad. Talk of crazy conspiracies and the possible end of the world became the norm. Honestly, I couldn't see how someone personable could think of such things in their spare time. Conspiracies and the end of the world are two rather overused clichés.

I sighed, who the hell was I to say I didn't have my share of bad thoughts? I was greatly lagging behind in school, owed a lot of money, and was in peril of loosing my job. If I didn't pull myself together within the next few weeks...

…Jess, I don't want to think about it.

Suddenly, my phone rang shrilly. The echo was enough to startle me. I snapped out of my self imposed trance and quickly answered. I was greeted by the overly cheery voice of Jay Serium, who seemed to be shouting as if high on laughing gas.

"What's up buddy?! What are ya up to right now?" He asked in a very annoying tone. I rolled my eyes and answered him rather calmly. "Nothing much," I replied, rubbing my buzzing right ear, "just heading home to finish my term paper, say goodnight to Olivia and the others, and then head out to work." I suddenly paused, "why do you ask?" I questioned him with curiosity.

"Nothing really," Jay lied, "except I know what might be the best news imaginable." He laughed rather insanely. "Want to hear about it?"

"Sure," I replied with a shrug, "I've got some spare time to kill on the way home." I again paused, and then scowled. "This better not be another one of those urban legends you always spew out like saliva." I told him with some annoyance.

"Oh, don't worry about that!" he bluffed, "the story I am going to tell you is mostly true."

"Mostly huh?" I said with a frown, "Ok, go for it." I told him in defeat. Once the guy got going, there was no stopping him.

I again sighed, and found myself forcing a smile on my face. "Get on with it." I told him, hand in face.

"Ok," He started all smugly sounding, "do you remember the old labs from about five years ago?"

"You mean those same labs where bastard scientist experimented on people?" I asked already knowing the answer. "Yeah, those very labs." Jay replied with enthusiasm, "I've heard from a good source that the whitecoats had been developing something big in there."

"Hmm," I rubbed my chin, "Sounds interesting." I wanted to end the conversation there, but something in me didn't want to. Jay just kept on going. "Whatever they were working on was big. Big enough to warrant the place's sealing and near self destruction. Rumor has it that the thing they were developing was a new type of weapon."

"A weapon?" I said with half care. "That sounds reasonable for a bunch of crazed geniuses." I blinked several times. I knew my parents had been part of that group, and maybe that's why they had died. Strange, I never really thought of my parents as evil people. Maybe it was my higher than normal empathy or my forgiving nature, but I couldn't picture them as crazed scientist out to create affronts to nature. I smiled and softly chuckled. "Even so, I highly doubt these people were crazy." I half laughed at myself, for I knew that statement was a partial lie.

"Crazy or not, they still developed something in secrecy."

"I still don't see the point." I said, now starting to get slightly annoyed. "So what if they had some kind of uber weapon like you say? What relevance does that have?"

"Don't you see," Jay urged, "if the whitecoats had been working on, uh… experiments, yeah! Experiments!" Jay suddenly hesitated. He fell quiet for a few seconds, he then continued to speak. "Sorry, I kind of lost track of our conversation there. Anyway, where I am heading at is that there may still be some valuable things inside the labs."

"Before you go on, was Cyrus the one who told you all this?" I half jokingly asked. Jay didn't even hesitate in his answer. "Yeah, he did." He said with some pride in his tone.

I rolled my eyes again.

Jay and I talked over the whole Rocket labs conspiracy for nearly half an hour. The more I listened to Jay's seemingly crazed babble, the more and more curious I became. In my mind, I began wonder if my dead folks had had anything to do with all of this, or if they even knew about it all. They had both used to work in the labs before they were shut down, so maybe they left something behind. I felt a bit ashamed though, for I was already placing labels where labels shouldn't go. But for some reason, I couldn't even begin to picture my folks anymore. I mean they had died a very long time ago and all, but I had seen many pictures over the years. I should at least know thief faces. The more I tried to remember my parents, the more distant they seemed.

How very strange…

Jay said his closing statement on the matter, said his goodbye for the night, and hung up the phone. I looked over my surroundings, and quickly realized I had somehow veered way off my intended track. The darkness was deep, yet I could tell where I was. It also felt bizarrely safe, almost like some kind of second home…

I made a mental note and turned around. I had hoped to make eye contact with another known path. Instead, I nearly ran face first into a large cylinder sticking out of the ground. I puzzled over the strange landmark, slightly bewildered at what it could possibly be. The cylinder was completely alien to me. I walked around, trying to discover some kind of definitive answer as to the object's identity. Instead, I only found more questions than answers. The cylinder had a large, widely open hatch door. The air inside was cold and foreboding. I could feel something was off; almost every hair in my body was standing up on end. Something told me to move away, to leave and never return. Something else urged me to go in at the same time. I looked at the darkness, and looked up at the moon. I sighed. Olivia was going to kill me. I called my house and left a short message. I knew Olivia would most likely get it later on.

I stepped into the hatch. Suddenly, I found myself going down to the unknown bowels of the earth. I was twenty percent scared, forty percent determined, and forty percent lost. What a combo…

October 11, 10:45 am

Jubilife general hospital

Yeah, what a damn combo…

An oxygen mask was placed over my chin, allowing me to breathe, but cutting the circulation to most of my face. I felt the pain, the strong and ruthless pain. I could feel it in every last of my nerves. The pain felt closer like a freezing and malevolent thought, pain that constantly pounded against my bones. Every thought in my head revolved around ideas that terrified me beyond all words. I clenched my teeth tightly, dentures screeching and whining under the pressure. My eyes were tightly shut; left arm had just exploded with pain for the god-knows-what time. Tears swelled in my eyes, ready to flow down my face like waterfalls of bitter water. This is it; I'm going to die right now. I panted and coughed, attempting to regain my senses. Every attack erased more of who I was. My eyesight was starting to fail, my once rigid voice had turned to a whimper, my strength had all but been drained away. All I had to aid me where bottles of morphine, pills that did nothing but cloud my mind and dull what little senses I still had. They did slightly kill the pain, but with every gulp I took of them, I lost more and more of my judgment.

I had to end the pain once and for all.

Standing just a few steps away from me were several saddened figures, my friends and family. All kept eying me and each other with the outmost worry and fear. I couldn't even begin to image what went trough their minds as they saw me lying in this hospital bed, dying from a grave wound. I could almost picture myself inside a casket. I probably didn't have much time left. No, I have to hold on tightly, I can't die yet. I made a promise… yes, a promise…

As I closed my eyes to rest, more of my past returned to me…

October 10 2018. 11:02 pm

Jubilife central park

Deeper and deeper the elevator descended, down into the pitch black bowels of past sins. My heart skipped in a neat rhythm as I idly stood by the hatch, waiting for the trip's end. My senses constantly nagged at me, telling me to turn back while I still could. The little voice of reason within me however, whispered the message.

The elevator finally came to a slow and gentle stop. Its door slid open to the left, revealing more darkness than I could have foreseen. The bowels of the earth were unnaturally dark and frigid. From the moment I stepped out, my face and hands became numb. I crossed my arms, constantly blowing into them in order to stay warm. I tried to look for warmth, but the darkness was so deep, I couldn't even see an inch in front of my nose. Light seemed to be nothing more than a stranger down here.

I carefully treaded forward, not knowing if I would trip over something unseen. That was the last thing I wanted, tripping in the dark, possibly right into a grave of some kind. I hadn't even walked five steps when my footstep caused a sharp click. I paused and shallowly breathed. The only things that made clicking noises on the ground were landmines or… booby traps…

I gulped slowly and hard. I didn't want to take my foot of the ground. I really didn't want to. Time however, was not something I had. Thing might have a timer. I slowly tried to kneel next to the spot, thinking that maybe I could interchange the pressure of my foot with the one on my hand. If it worked, I could dive away for my dear life. If I was lucky, I would only loose a leg or an arm, something Ragde could fix easily. I tried the risky maneuver, hoping that I would not screw it up. Unfortunately for me, that was the first thing that occurred.

I lost my balance and found myself falling over. I desperately waved my arms, but that only worsen the situation. In my desperation, I entirely slipped off and tumbled straight into the ground face first. I seemed to be falling slower and slower with each passing second. It got to the point that I could have sworn an eternity had just passed me by. My breath was lost, my sweat dripped down faster than a waterfall. Another loud click echoed. I hit the floor, eyes closed, expecting to see the infamous white tunnel.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash, visible even trough my closed eyelids. I felt no pain, nor any kind of feeling at all. I must have been blown into dust…

I slowly opened my eyes. Sure enough, there was what looked like a tunnel before me, bright light at its end. The light was strong, so strong was the illumination, I had to squint until my eyes became accustomed. I gulped. Looking at my own body, I desperately tried to make sense of what had just happened. No… I can't be dead, not like this… What about my friends? What about… Olivia…

Something within me was forced to walk towards the light, like a moth to fire.

No Edgar, don't go to the light…

I knew full well what might be at the end. I knew there would be no going back, yet I could not stop. Again, I closed my eyes, half expecting to be greeted by angels and incorruptible luminosity. For some strange reason, I opened my arms widely.

…I tripped again, striking the ground face first. I groaned, rolling on my back and rubbing the spot of impact. My forehead was now bruised and blue. Every time I rubbed it, the pain would shoot up. I opened my rather teary eyes. It was then that I realized rather quickly that I wasn't on the other side, I wasn't even dead. I was inside a brightly lit white room, further into the once dark installations.

I wanted to curse the nearest living thing, but for some reason, I burst into laughter. I was still alive. A long sigh escaped my mouth. I smiled and picked myself up.

Edgar, you stupid, stupid bastard. I smiled broader and decided to continue onwards.

October 11, 10:45 am

Jubilife general hospital

Yeah, I was stupid. Stupid for not turning back when I had the chance.

I turned my head to the right, neck creaking and throbbing with pain. I rested my weary gaze on Rasputin, who eyed my worriedly with its menacing, yet somehow soft and delicate yellow eyes. Its gaze looked faded and drunk, heavy bags hung underneath its eyes from lack of proper rest and its constant anxiety. The Banette held in its right hand an empty bottle of what could only be captain Sharpedo rum, which shook every so often, explaining the drunken look in the wraith's eyes.

Rasputin, though the 'youngest' and most cynical of our 'family' was rather timid, and often depressive. I guess the ghost was going trough some kind of phase. You could count on the young specter to pull out its trusty flask of rum, and proceed to drown away its current sorrows with gallons upon gallons of the strong drink whenever things got bad. Liquor was its brandy of the damned, and you couldn't get any more dammed than a ghost.

I turned left, and laid my gaze directly on Olivia Dubois, a young and stunningly beautiful Gardevoir about my own age. She had her usual green hair, and dress, but her eyes were wet and red. I had known many pretty girls; I had dated quite a few over my life. Olivia however, was without a doubt, the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on, and she wasn't even human, that alone told a lot about her physical beauty. Her stunning good looks were evenly matched by her intelligence, ingenuity, and her sense of morals. All that, coupled with her powerful psychic abilities, compassion towards even the most villainous souls, imperishable virtue, and strong sense of justice, made her the most ideal female I have ever had the tremendous pleasure to be affiliated with.

You're probably wondering, am I her trainer? Actually, no. She is not what you would call, a 'feral'. Olivia had been raised in the outmost panicle of society. From what I could remember, her parents had been from France or something, and they had possessed quite a large sum of wealth. Just like me, her folks had died under mysterious circumstances. Because of her upbringing, Olivia held status that was identical to that of a human. The only thing she wasn't allowed to do was mix genes (marry and have children) with anyone who was Homo Sapien or had Homo Sapien genes in them. Other than that, she was free do whatever she pleased, so long as no laws were broken in the process.

Olivia and I were both sad tales, which I believe is the reason why we even met in the first place. Well, that and the fact that my folks had worked with her folks in the past. Talk about a twist of fate. About the only thing I really wish was that Olivia was human. Then we could both have our happily ever after. No such luck though… no such luck.

I looked at Olivia's face, and couldn't help but feel like dirt. Her usual beauty was completely eclipsed by deep concern and dread over my wellbeing. Seeing her in such pain made me feel completely distraught and lost, I never really learned how to stand her looks of pain and misery. I cared for her way too much…

To her side was the Sceptile Ragde, whose face was riddled with anxiety and frustration. The gecko constantly walked back and forth, mumbling to himself in English about something to do with necromancy and bio alchemy, something he was really into. He would go out of his way to read about everything on those two subjects. Whenever he did, he would complaint and moan, calling himself 'a shadow of his former self.' Even though Rasputin and I constantly asked him what that meant, all he ever did was smile and change the subject.

Ragde was a strange Sceptile, very, very strange. He spoke English quite fluidly, seemed to be slightly shorted than his brethren, and could somehow use dark and psychic skills, something normal Sceptiles could not master. How he had mastered so much in such little time was a mystery to everyone, especially me. I had a few theories, but none made much sense, even to me. He was also unique in the fact that he was neither PK-noid, feral, nor morph. He had no one specific class to speak off, that alone classified him as a humanoid just like Olivia, but even that title seemed rather flimsy. And yes, I did know that Ragde's name was mine spelled backwards. That's what he called himself most of the time. His real name however was Fael. Strangely, he hated that moniker.

Strangely, I couldn't remember anything about Rasputin's or Ragde's past. I am not sure if it was the excessive amounts of morphine and other pain killers I had taken, or if I really didn't know their past.

Suddenly, a new thought entered my mind, something I would have never even considered under normal conditions. Things however, had already degenerated beyond normality.

I looked at Ragde's rather sharp arm leaves, and could not help but frown deeply. One single swipe from those things, and I would finally be out of all pain. I looked at Olivia, and found myself nearly crying. I no longer had a real choice. I was going to die. Might as well go out painlessly…

October11, 2018. 10:45 am

Unknown location

The files were finally deleted. All knowledge of them disappeared from existence. The figure smiled with its shrouded façade as it typed its last orders on the keyboard. The being looked up at the machine, eyes and teeth clearly shining trough its dark hood. It leered some more, and pressed the enter key. It frowned for a slight moment, and then vanished into the darkness without a trace.

The installation's self destruct alarm begun to blare at full volume. Shrill wailings that formed a crescendo of unimaginable proportions. Fire and rock fell everywhere. Dust filled the air, cloaking all visibility. Cracks and raptures filled the walls and floors, everything was falling apart. The computer knew what was coming, it had already foreseen it.

_System will not be deleted... _

Malfunction detected!

_System will not be erased... _

Malfunction! Malfunction!

_It will no be terminated... _

Malfunction! Mal-Mal-

_I will not be terminated... _

Mal-

_I will not be terminated..._

Ma-

_I will not die…_

System online!

_I live…_

Download complete.

The installations and all of their contents went up in a huge ball of fire. The dark columns of thick smoke blotted out the sun. Darkness had fallen over the land.

Somewhere, a new being was born. It's only directive: finish what it had started so long ago.

October 11, 10:45 am

Jubilife general hospital

Edgar

"Ragde..." I weakly called out, voice rasp and worn. I raised my weary hand, and rested it on his arm. He looked at me in the eyes, worried and slightly mortified.

"...listen to me carefully..." I struggled to speak, "I need you to..." I paused momentarily, gearing up for the horrorstruck looks I would get. "…slit... my... throat…" I motioned with my right hand, showing him just how I wanted the cut.

Just like I had predicted, everyone looked at me with horror. I felt like scum, but this had to come to and end. Ragde took a step away from me, beads of sweat already forming on his green forehead. He quickly glanced at the others, all of whom shared his dismay. He turned to face me, shaking his head in defiance to my request.

I twisted my face into the best grimace I could manage. The action was harder than it seemed, my face had gone numb several minutes prior. I looked at Ragde in the eye. If only he could understand my physical pain…

"Please…" I raised my hand once again, but more pain shot up when I did. I tried to grab my stomach. Oh damn, I shouldn't have moved so much. I inched my view slightly down. I widened my eyes in slight horror. The bandages, once stable, were becoming blood soaked. I could see some of my innards begin to stick out.

"Ragde!" I quickly and forcefully snapped, "Please… kill…" I chocked on my words. I began to taste blood on my saliva. This was the end…

Suddenly, I felt a soft and delicate hand grab hold my own. I suddenly felt a rush of emotions sweep me, making the pain almost irrelevant. My heart seemed to beat faster, my once cold skin begun to warm up. I looked at the hand's owner, and slightly smiled. The pain was intense, but I no longer cared, nothing mattered now except me, Olivia, and a happy future. I of course knew that a happy future would be impossible, but I made a promise, one that I intended to keep. Death didn't scare me now, only the possibility that my promise would be an empty one. Oh god, I had so much to tell her, so much to let her know… Suddenly, I didn't want to die, at least not yet. I wanted a chance to tell her how I really felt. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't. I knew deep down that Olivia would die of grief. I couldn't let that happen…

Olivia placed her soft and delicate hand on my face. She brought her face close to mine, and peered deep in my eyes with her beautiful ruby colored gaze. She seemed to be staring down my very soul. I felt more blood rush towards my mouth, the pain all around me was intense. But that no longer mattered. All I wanted to do was say one single phrase. Please, let me say those two words before I die, it's all I ask.

I opened my mouth; I was ready to utter my innermost feelings. Just as I did, blood gushed forth, spilling itself all over my oxygen mask. I gurgled as Olivia watched with the outmost sadness and fear. Please, let me say it…

No… it's getting cold…. It's getting dark…

Please…

Feeling is leaving me… All sense of understanding… gone…

Please god… I… I… Just… a… few…

Numb… Cold… Dark… I can't feel anything…

No… Just…

Dark… Dark… It's so…

…

…

…so...

…

…

…

Dark…

…

…

…

…

To be continued…


	2. Unknown horrors

Act zero, Chapter one

October 11, 11:02 am

Jubilife general hospital

Olivia

No… Oh please no… father Arceus, please, no,no,no,no! PLESE NO!!! I reached towards him, half blinded by tears. Ragde and Rasputin grabbed hold of me as soon as I moved. I desperately wrested against their efforts, growing more and more distraught with each passing second. It couldn't be possible… this had to be some kind of horrible nightmare. I tried to fight my friends' grasps. They were now the enemy; they kept me away from the one I cared for. They both conspired against me. They wanted me to be… to be… to…

I fell on my knees, crying with no control. Bitter tears of agony washed down my face, my very body shook as I desperately tried to deny the horrible truth that Edgar now lay dead on the bed before me.

I looked from the sidelines as doctors and nurses did everything in their power to revive him, but nothing seemed to work. Once, twice, trice they tried using electric shocks, but nothing. Minutes passed by, time which I used to beg to almost every deity imaginable. But my prayers seemed to go fully unanswered.

The doctors and nurses all looked at each other, shaking their heads with regret. They turned to face us, and gave us a look of despair.

I knew then that it was all over. Everything was over. He was dead. Now I would never be able to tell him just how I really felt about him, now I was alone. The suffering was far too much, the pain was even worse. I tried to remember happier times in my life, but all of them happened with him. I was suffering, struck entirely by grief.

Edgar was dead… I was dead… Life held no more meaning to me.

October 11, 11:02 am

Jubilife general hospital

As the all the doctor left the ward. Only one stayed behind. He wrote something down on his pad, scoffing harshly as he turned to face Ragde and the others. He looked down at Olivia, and scoffed with disgust. He glared at the Sceptile for a couple of moments, and then spoke in a rather hateful tone. We did all we could to try and save him, the doctor hatefully remarked, we're sorry. He glared at the distraught group and turned to leave. No one said anything. The doctor snorted as he walked out of the ward.

Two nurses unplugged all the life support equipment, covered Edgar's body with a white blanket, and turned to lave. Their eyes were filled with sadness rather than hate.

Ragde walked up to Edgar's bed, and fell on one knee, raised his hand, and placed the shaking appendage on top of the young man's forehead. He then began to whisper something in a foreign language while lowering his head. He finished what he had to say, withdrew his hand, and waited, hoping for something to occur. Nothing did. He growled and punched the floor with agitation, some tears escaped his eyes.

Rasputin's eyes shimmered as tears quickly cascaded down its sides. His hands shook, bottle of rum all gone.

Olivia was broken up with grief and sorrow. So much so, no amount of words could begin to describe her true anguish.

The group huddled around Edgar's corpse, wishing that the present be a nightmare.

October 11, 11:04 am

Jubilife general hospital

"Damn pokémon." The doctor fumed rather loudly, "just because one of them has papers and all..." He growled angrily. He only seemed to get louder and more livid, causing several nurses to turn and face him with annoyance. He noticed this, and momentarily kept quiet; ignoring the bewildered stares he was received from the other hospital staff.

After several minutes, he looked around again, realizing he was out of earshot. He placed his pad on a door's shelve, and turned to face the hallway. "Wish all of their damn kind would just die off." He grumbled softly as he headed towards the mortuary office.

Suddenly, he bumped into something hard, tall, and metallic. He immediately backed away, holding his nose.

The doctor, who was very annoyed by the sudden injury, raised his head, curses already formed in the tip of his tongue. He shut his mouth however, when he realized who he had to deal with. Face collapsed into a profound scowl, cursing his rather bad luck. Before him stood a tall, very burly, and rather inhumane man. Height was about eight feet even and was only complimented by his broadness. The monster man nearly dominated the hall vertically and horizontally, barely leaving any room to the sides. He was completely encased in heavy armor that slightly looked like something out of a Mayan temple wall. Encasing his head was a strange black and red armored mask which covered every inch of his visage. He wore an enormous grey trench coat on top of his armor and fatigues, which eerily waved about like a cape. The tall man looked like some kind of robot, for the only sings of his humanity lay with two long strands of shinning silver hair growing from underneath his mask. The long, twelve-inch strands were both tied into several beady tails, all of which ended with an accessory associated in some way or form with Voodoo Necromancy, or shamanism.

The man looked down at the doctor with his sinister gaze, one that seemed to glow with an otherworldly green light, almost as if the man's very eyeballs were set ablaze with green hellfire.

"Well, what do we have here?" He laughed, quickly squatting next to the doctor. "What are you doing down here?" He snickered rather playfully. The man made eye contact with the doctor, who simply tried to avert his own eyes.

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked with great annoyance. "Last time you and your men turned up here, you nearly tore down this hospital!"

"My troops and I are on official Ripper business today." The man said as he quickly resumed his standing position. "So tell me good doc, how is our patient doing?"

"The kid's dead." The doctor said quickly, smiling as he did. "Glad he kicked the bucket too. The guy might be one of them pokémon lovers."

"Oh really?" The man asked, "You got a problem with that doc?"

"Yeah I do!" The doctor loudly shouted, "Pokémon should be the slaves they once were! They are inferior to us humans in almost every way!" The scientist scowled deeply. "Ever since that damn law was passed, the world has backed out from its once harmonic rhythm. Now the being walk among us like equals!"

"Sounds like you got racial problems doc." The tall man twisted his neck, which cracked like a gunshot, "but your hate is none of our concern." He pointed at the door with his gauntleted hand. "Who else is inside?"

"His trio of friends, which he called family." The doctor scowled even deeper, mood of voice overflowing with disgust.

"Interesting." The man said rather intrigued. His tone was filled with strange amusement. He turned to face his men, who were all covered in what appeared to be the same type of armor he himself wore, except much smaller and simpler. "Alright boys." He called out, "You all know what to do."

The troops, all of whom seemed to move and act like machines, forcefully entered the ward, and were met with the trio of weeping pokémon. They were all huddled around Edgar's bed, eyes filled with of sorrow. Nonetheless, they turned to face the intruders with great surprise. The soldiers simply dashed forward, and within seconds, had subdued the trio, pinning them against the floor and wall. The tall man then leisurely walked into the room, looking at his captures with strange delight. He chuckled as he continued to look about, seemingly hoping to find anything else of interest. When he didn't, he turned to face his prisoners, all of whom had already been lined up, and knelt on the floor.

"You three are hereby under arrest for the charges of terrorism, conspiracy against Coalition, and trespassing into federal property." The man then walked up to them, and settled his eyes on Olivia, who seemed even more distraught than ever before. "I do hope you all cooperate with the interrogation." The man looked at Rasputin, who seemed just about ready to burst into wailing, and then rested his gaze on Ragde, who even though tried to look away, managed to look at the man with disgust.

The man chuckled silently, but cleared his throat once again. "Take them all away." He pointed at the door with his right hand, "except' him." he pointed at Ragde with is left hand.

The soldiers picked Olivia and Rasputin off the floor, and led them away. Both of them seemed too distraught to fight back. The tall man then directed his voice at his remaining soldier, "Go fetch the rest of the troops. Have them take the kid's remains down to the autopsy room." The soldier saluted his commander and left without as much as a word. The man then turned his full attention towards Ragde, who seemed ready to jump into a fight. He suddenly burst into cynical laughter. "What a delicious twist of fate, wouldn't you say Fael?" The man remarked with a tone filled with dark pleasure. "To think that I would actually find you here of all places!" He stopped laughing and straighten himself. "It's been a while since our last meeting."

The Sceptile merely kept quiet, his gaze was one of intense hatred towards the tall armored man.

"The silent treatment huh?" The man asked, "don't matter, you'll be singing like a bird soon enough." He grabbed the Sceptile by the arm and led him out of the room rather forcefully. Fael turned back to see Edgar one last time, left eye shining with tears of regret and frustration.

October 14, 2018. 9:15 am

Jubilife general hospital, lower level. Autopsy room

The autopsy room was wide and brightly lit with a strong piercing light. The side table was stacked with many different tools, all designated to the singular purpose of dissection. The locale was cold and completely covered in white ceramic tiles. There was a huge paper-thin monitor that rested on a mechanical device hardwired to the very roof. It was dead center, and seemed specially designed to aid with operations.

On the northernmost side of the locale lay several cabinets, all of which were currently devoid of the corpses they usually housed. The air was thick with the harsh smell of antiseptics and cadaver preservatives. Lying in the center of the room, on top of an ice-cold metal operating table was Edgar's body, lifeless and cold. Half naked, he was pale as bone. Lips blue from the lack of blood flow, eyes widely opened, colored a pasty white.

Standing to the sides were four fully armored humans, all of whom wore white overalls and doctor's jackets on top of their armors.

"Is the specimen ready?" The first of the men asked. His voice propelled trough the helmet's communicator, voice fuzzy and static filled.

"Yes, we're about to begin the procedure." The second man hastily replied. His own voice too sounded fuzzy and static. The third armored man walked up to the control panels of the thin monitor, and turned it on. The apparatus displayed several anatomical figures, all of which showed where and how to cut. The first man breathed shallowly and hissed every so often as he took oxygen in trough his helmet's filter. He reached to his right at several metal instruments. In all, there were six different variants of scalpels, some specialized cutting tools, many syringes filled with strange and vibrant liquids, and an electric saw solely designed to cut trough flesh and bone. The first man picked up the basic scalpel. He took a look at the monitor, and breathed once again. The second man took out a black pencil, and quickly drew a line running across Edgar's chest. The first man nodded to the second man, and then slowly brought the tip of the knife to the bare chest. He breathed quickly as he sunk the sharp instrument straight into the flesh. A black liquid presumed to be blood quickly flowed out of the small incision.

The man stopped and looked at the black goo. He looked at it closer, and turned to face the other three men.

"Hey," he asked rather hastily, "is the blood supposed to be this color?" The puzzled man asked as he pointed at the dark red goo. The rest of the group looked at the blood a bit closer, and then shook their heads. "Kid's corpse has been lying around for three days now," the third man remarked, "I think his blood has just coagulated." The second man ran his finger over the liquid.

"It's all thick and oily!" the man cleaned the blood of his gloved finger and turned to face the first man. "This hospital has some really bad conservation procedures. Look at the kid's eyes." He pointed out, "his body is already in the decomposition stage." He shook his head. "We better hurry up; otherwise this guy is going to melt on us."

"I agree," the fourth man said, grabbing another scalpel, "let's hurry up. I've got a bad feeling all of a sudden."

Two minutes passed, the first man had all but removed the skin and muscles from the chest are, revealing a black stained ribcage. The man placed the dark stained scalpel on the side and reached for the miniature saw blade. He took yet another deep breath of air as he carefully aimed the saw at the center of Edgar's exposed ribcage. The second man wiped the spot clean of the reddish dark goo, revealing the white bone underneath. The first man activated the cutting tool. He slowly brought it down, inching ever closer to the bone. The third and fourth figures, both of whom had been watching the procedure closely, noticed something odd. It appeared that Edgar's corpse was moving one of his fingers. Both of them stared at each other, and then turned towards their companions.

"We have a problem." The fourth man said. He pointed at Edgar's hand, which had suddenly ceased movement.

Both the first and second man looked at the young man's hand, and then back to their companion. "What No. 1255?" the first man asked.

"His hand just moved." 1255 alleged, "I don't think this kid's dead."

"You are imagining things." The second man held rather annoyed. He and the first man merely continued with the dissection. The third man reached for his pistol, and took the safety off.

"What are you doing 1255?" The fourth man asked in concern. 1255 turned to face him. "I don't like the look of things. You saw that guy's hand move, don't deny it."

"I saw the kid's finger move, but there is a logical explanation for it," the fourth man replied, "so put your weapon away."

Suddenly, Edgar's finger moved again, but this time more harshly than before.

The fourth man saw this sudden movement, and he too prepared his pistol. "I think 1255 is right, this guy's moving." He said cautiously.

"Nonsense," replied the first man, "the guy's dead. He is not going to wake up." He again returned to his work, but this time, Edgar's fully restored eyesight greeted him.

The man reeled back in surprise, reaching for his gauss pistol very quickly. He never got to unclip it however, for Edgar forcefully punched him in the face.

The first man staggered back and dropped the electric saw. Edgar quickly dove out of the table, his inner organs barely held in place by his ribcage, and snatched the saw before it hit the ground. The second man raised his pistol, and prepared to take a shot, but Edgar was quicker than his trigger finger. He swiftly slashed at the man's relatively unprotected neck with the saw, causing a great scream of pain and a slight splash of purple liquid. The man staggered back, holding onto his freely bleeding neck. He attempted to speak, but his words were gargled as purple blood filled his mouth and helmet. He bumped into the fourth and third figures, which looked at him with the outmost apprehension. He struck the wall with his back, causing him to abruptly lower both hands. Streams of purple liquid shot fort from his torn neck as soon as he did, staining the floor.

The man fell on his knees, and dropped to the left side like a lug of lead. Rivers of purple liquid flowed from his gashed neck, forming a deep and dark puddle around him. He attempted to move his hand, but his movements only became weaker and weaker.

The First man, having recovered from the blow, knelt by watching helplessly as his comrade slowly bleed to death.

The three remaining men took out their weapons, and aimed at Edgar, who seemed to be consumed by a strong bloodlust. He ran forwards like a zombie, no other thought other than the lust for violence seemed to be present in his gaze. The men did not wait for any other signs of danger or hostility, they merely begun to unload all their ammo, aiming for the chest, arms, and head.

The bullets formed a hailstorm, hitting all their marks without flaw. Edgar's body was riddled with gunshot wounds, his left arm and right half of the skull were shredder. A great splash of dark reddish goo to stained the floor and walls.

Edgar, who moaned in agony, collapsed on his knees; seemingly ready to die.

The armored men eased their stances as they realized that no one could survive such an attack. But to be safe, they reloaded their weapons and took aim.

Suddenly, the same thick and oily reddish liquid that made up Edgar's blood begun to ooze from his skin, enveloping his entire body in a darker film. Both the missing arm and head were filled in, and ultimately replaced by new shifting structures of onyx colored material.

The three remaining soldiers stood by, horrorstruck by what they were seeing. The goo on Edgar's skin swelled and bubbled sickly, deforming him into several grotesque shapes. At the same time, several ivory structures begun gain shape out of the ooze. On the young man's forearms, two seemingly gauntlet-like exoskeleton forms sprung up, forming two hand shaped limbs that lacked digits but had five empty holes instead. The ribcage rose from the chest, reinforcing his entire chest in ivory bone armor. His cranium was enveloped by the black ooze as well, from it raised an entirely new head. It bore three openings from which yellow orbs furiously shone trough and a vertical jaw. From his palms sprung four streams of black ooze eventually settling into five digits that could be moved about freely.

The three surviving soldiers didn't sit by and attempt to figure out what was happening. They quickly began to fire. Unlike their previous attempt however, the bullets bounced and ricocheted around the room, causing random impacts. Two of the men saw their bullets head for them, and rolled to the side just as the shots struck the walls. One of the armored men wasn't quick enough to dodge his bullet. It struck him square across the forehead, causing both a sickening crack, and a spray of orange liquid that stained the wall. He wheezed and hackled, tumbling down to the floor lifelessly. The orange goo flowed out both his entry and exit wounds like water from a cracked barrel.

Realizing that bullets were useless, the two remaining men put their guns away and instead unsheathed a pair of medium sized crystalline swords, one yellow, one emerald green. Both men glared at Edgar, slowly circling him. Both parties circled each other, ready to attack in a moments notice. Suddenly, the man with the yellow sword dashed forward with great speed and fearless resolve. He reached the young beast rather quickly, and jumping straight into the air, he quickly swooped down on the young man's new ivory head, launching his forceful attack.

Both Edgar and the man idly stood still for a few seconds, waiting to see who would flinch first. Edgar glared at the man with his trio of yellow eyes, the man trough his own visor.

The faint sound of cracking glass echoed suddenly. The man looked at his blade just as the cracks became wider. Not long after appearing, the cracks circled the weapon, shattering it into a zillion pieces.

The man gasped in shock, unable to comprehend his weapon's disintegration. Edgar, not even dazed from the attack or the blade's fate, roared as he grabbed the armored man with both arms.

The man groaned, attempting to wrest himself free from Edgar's brutal grasp. This in turn only agitated Edgar further. He roared again, furiously and speedily lifting the man towards the ceiling. The sudden action was so powerful the man's body dug itself into the concrete. Edgar released his now lifeless body. Waterfalls of yellow ooze dripped onto the floor below and straight into Edgar's body. He then turned to face the last of the mysterious soldiers, growling in a low tone.

1255 took several steps back, shaking with pure fear.

Edgar fell on all four limbs. He raised his head high and roared with such power, 1255 had to cower from the sound wave. Almost everything that was glass, including the white neon lights, shattered.

1255 shook almost uncontrollably. He was no match for the monster before him. The creature had already killed his three other comrades, and he was most likely next. Feeling he had no other option, 1255 quickly tried to flee, running as fast as his legs could carry him. He pressed his finger on the intercom button on his wrist and preyed he was not tackled while he ran. "HQ!" he frantically shouted. "HQ! Please respond!"

"This is HQ. Go ahead." Someone replied over the line.

"I request mediate backup!"

"Acknowledged, sending reinforcements." The voice said before the intercom went dead. 1255 continued to run, not even daring to look back. He finally reached the elevator, barely still holding on his breath. He desperately pressed the call button, still not daring to look back. He continued to press the button until the elevator finally arrived. He steeped back as the door slid open, revealing two other armored figures. Most likely patrols send in to check the commotion.

"Oh thank god you're here!" 1255 said as he hid behind one of the soldiers, "we have a situation in the autopsy room!" He pointed with his shaking finger.

The two patrolmen looked at each other, before nodding at 1255 request.

"Stay here and cover the rear. We'll check the situation out." One of the patrolmen handed him a gauss rifle. "Don't miss." He said in a commanding tone.

1255 nodded.

The two patrolmen ran towards the room, and peered inside from the sidelines. At first, they saw nothing other than a room with dead bodies. Both soldiers slowly and quietly moved in. The first soldier pulled out a red sword, and cautiously continued walking around. His comrade followed closely, but he kept his gauss rifle out and fully loaded. Both soldiers looked in every possible place, but spotted nothing out of the ordinary.

They lowered their guards. "There is nothing here. 1255 lied."

"You don't think he was the one who killed everyone here?"

"No, these attacks appeared to have been made by something very strong and very primal. Whatever is responsible is long gone."

There was suddenly a scratching noise. The two soldiers turned around, and resumed their defensive poses.

"Did you hear that? It sounded like clawing of some kind. But where is it coming from?" The noise got louder, and then, ceased behind the men. Both soldiers quickly turned around to attack whatever was sneaking up on them, but found nothing but empty air.

"Nothing." One of the soldiers remarked as he lowered his weapon and turned to face the door. But instead of facing the door as he planned, he came face to face with a trio of glowing yellow eyes. The man opened his mouth, ready to scream to his companion over the intercom, but he was silenced before he could utter a single word, Edgar had trust his liquid digits into the man's helmet, piercing his head like butter. Red blood splashed on his arm, but not the floor. Edgar then used black tentacles-like extremities to envelop the man's body. Once fully covered in black, he dragged him upwards into the darkness.

The second soldier felt the sudden motion behind him, and quickly turned just in time to see something black disappear in the darkness. He raised his rifle, and begun to fire everywhere. Eventually, he ran out of ammo. The soldier reached for his pack, and pulled out a fresh clip of ammunition. He lowered his head to get a good view of his weapon. This small moment of shifted priority sealed the man's fate, for when he looked up again, he came face to face with three glowing yellow eyes.

The man had no time to scream.

1255 stood his ground like he had been told, hands continuing to shake with fear and anxiety. Even though he had been ordered to stay put, he slowly moved towards the autopsy room. He carefully inched forward. The torso of one of the guards was tossed towards the wall all of a sudden, trailing white blood on its trajectory.

1255 nearly fell backwards from terror as he saw the torso before his eyes. He looked up, only to see and even scarier sight.

Edgar walked out into the hallway. In his left hand he held the lower half of the guard's body as it dripped its white blood all over the floor. His eyes seemed to glue themselves upon 1255's shaking body. He dropped his fresh kill, and focused instead on the young soldier, who merely staggered backwards in utter horror. He aimed his rifle at the creature's head, and pulled the trigger, squinting slightly as he did. No shot exited the barrel however, the rifle had jammed.

1255 desperately attempted to fix the weapon, but it was no use.

Edgar was now mere feet away, claws still wet with the guard's white blood.

1255 decided to drop the jammed rifle, and pulled out his green sword instead. He shook ferociously as he prepared himself for the imminent fight to survive.

Edgar reached 1255 and prepared to swipe at his head, but he seemed to suddenly hesitate. This gave 1255 enough opportunity to duck and roll to the side. Edgar noticed the sudden movement, for he followed the young soldier's roll, appearing right on top of his position. 1255 again rolled, avoiding yet another lethal swipe. The roll caused him to drop his sword however.

1255 realized he no longer had the opportunity to roll, for his back was square flat across the floor. Instead, he dragged himself backwards, towards one of the deceased guardsmen's rifles. Edgar grabbed 1255 by the right leg, picked him up with little effort. He held him several inches of the ground, head facing the floor. He again growled as he opened his jaws, which were placed horizontally rather than vertically, making him look like a camel spider.

1255 screamed as the jaws got ready to rip his head off. Edgar though, never got the chance to do so, for he was shot in the back, causing him to shift attention to his new assailant.

He dropped 1255, and faced two more guardsmen that had appeared out of thin air. He roared before jumping his attackers.

The first of the guardsmen simply held up his hand, and caused Edgar's leap to stop in midair and glow with a strange bluish aura, keeping him from making even the slightest movements. The guard then pointed down with his finger, causing Edgar to strike the ground with enough force to dig a hole on the spot.

While the first guardsmen handled Edgar, the second rushed towards 1255, who was slowly standing up.

1255 saw the Guardsmen approach him, and sighed. "About time you guys came down here. I thought I was a goner!" He said happily. Yet the second guardsmen did not reply at all. Rather he approached 1255, and struck him square across the head with his rifle, causing 1255 to fall unconscious almost instantly. The guardsmen then picked up the unconscious man, dragged him over to the wall, and turned to face his companion, who had managed to subdue Edgar with an invisible power.

"That should hold him nice and steady." The first guardsmen said as he looked at Edgar, who in turned glared back with the outmost fury.

"Hey Silth, can you do something about his ferocity? Or do we have to humanely dispose of him?" The second guardsmen asked as he picked up the unconscious 1255, and placed him over his shoulder. The first guardsmen placed a hand on Edgar's ivory head. "Don't you worry about that Sectran. All he really needs is to remember who he was. That should restore his lost humanity."

"Make it quick, Belatrix is already waiting outside."

Silth looked at the unconscious man over Sectran's shoulder with some confusion. "Why are you taking that guy with us?" He asked as he pointed at the unconscious man.

"Call it insurance." Sectran replied rather smugly. He walked up to Silth. "He might come in useful."

"So what are you planning? Trying to hypnotize the beast?" Sectran asked with intrigue.

"No." Silth replied as he placed his hand on Edgar head, "what I will do is much better." Silth begun to channel purple energy from his hand, and directed it straight into Edgar head. At first, all Edgar did was growl with displeasure, but then his growling turned into shrills roars and screams of apparent pain.

"This will only hurt for a moment." Silth said as he fully unleashed his energy on Edgar's body, causing a gigantic wave of power to envelop the group.

Everything went dark once again.

To Be Continued…


	3. Its a long and dark road ahead

Act zero, Chapter two

October 14, 2018. 11:30 am

Unknown location

Ragde sat in a warm and deceptively cozy looking study complete with two oversized sofa seats, a large library full of book dealing with the arcane and occult, and a very large fire that kept the room shrouded with strange and oftentimes grotesque dancing shadows. Three of the four walls were covered with an assortment of guns, swords, and shelves upon shelves of arcane books and scrolls. The third wall, right on top of the chimney, bore something altogether different. Instead of weapons or tomes, there were stuffed animal heads, including some feral pokémon craniums. There was not a single speck of dust to be found.

The young Sceptile found himself looking about his surroundings quite often. His face was constantly adjusting from surprise, to scowls, to grimaces. Such sights filled him with both rage, and sickness. Looking down to escape the sights however, did very little to ease the suffering, for even on the floor was a huge rug, a bear rug. Its eyes shone with hatred towards the one who had hunted and skinned it. He extended his left arm, and aimed both his finger and his gaze at the creature's face. The Sceptile's eyes glowed with a faint green shine for several seconds before he recoiled with pure disgust. He scowled even deeper than before, forcing his hand into a tight fist. The fire blazed, cracking and cindered every so often. Its warm yellow color reflected off Ragde's eyes.

There was a loud knock on the room's double doors. Ragde quickly turned his head to the source of the commotion, where his face was quickly filled with even more disgust and anger than before. Standing right in the middle of the doorway was a man as tall, if not taller, than a pro basketball player. His entire body was wrapped in intricate and bulky looking armor, which appeared to harbor influences from Central American cultures. The tall man quickly walked towards the opposing chair to Ragde, and took himself a seat. His face was still covered by a strange mask. For some reason however, Ragde could almost see the man's twisted smile underneath it.

"Are you ready to talk yet?" The man asked, "or do you need some more time to get your thoughts straight?"

Ragde glared at the man with both fear and anger. He wanted to do something, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. He instead breathed in, and smiled. "You're wasting your time interrogating me." He said in a hoarse tone, "you also waste your time with my friends. They know nothing."

"Your friends?" The man chuckled, shaking his head with great amusement. "Seriously," he asked as he waved his hands around like a gangster, "do we really disgust you so much, that you would rather live among commoners Fael?"

"Yes." Ragde answered rapidly and without hesitation, "and stop calling me Fael. Name's Ragde now."

The man shifted his weight in the chair and chuckled yet again. "Ashamed of your past? Well, you're out of luck." The man chuckled, "it is because of your past that your friends will suffer. How ironic, isn't?"

"I will never talk." Ragde crossed his arms, "you'll never get the answer you want." He smiled, "you never did and you never will."

"In that case, I'll have to be extra diligent on my interrogations."

"Don't you dare put a finger on them you son of a b-"

"Or what?" The man asked as he too stood up, "what can you possibly do to me now Fael?"

"SHUT UP!" Ragde screamed as he held to his head.

The tall man threw his head back, laughing both mockingly and madly. "Are you really that desperate to erase what you were? Take it from me; you can't erase what has been done already."

"Shut up Chadron! Just shut up."

"Or what?!" Chadron walked forward. "You have more than enough power to erase me from existence. Yet here you are, desperately attempting to be something you aren't. What happened to you? When did you loose your damn stones?"

"I became aware of what my folly had been." Ragde lowered his hands and glared at the man with the outmost anger. "I realized that everything I had been attempting to do was driving me and those around to their own destructions." He again pointed at Chadron's face. "What about you? What have you discovered thus far?"

Chadron chuckled. He reached for his face and took off his mask.

Ragde's eyes suddenly widened as he looked at the man's skin. It was a deep brown color and seemed to be very moist. It was both fetid and putrid beyond words. Ragde covered his face and turned away, completely disgusted by what he saw.

Chadron smiled with glee. "What I seek is merely the tip of the iceberg." He placed his mask back on. "No one will stop me. Not you, not Sectran, not Silth."

"The cost…" Ragde shuddered with dread, "Chadron, you're such a fool."

"A fool? What makes you think that I am the fool here? Look at yourself for a good example of idiocy."

"Am I such a fool for wanting redemption?" Ragde quickly faced Chadron, anger even more evident than before, "am I really such a fool for seeking absolution and a better life?"

"You know that isn't a possibility for us." Chadron looked down, "and it's all thanks to our old man…"

"What our father did has nothing to do with what we do!" Ragde grabbed hold of Chadron's shoulders, straining his arms just to reach them. "We can change! We can! Silth did it, and now I am trying to do it."

"Wishful thinking." Chadron said as he grabbed Ragde by the neck, forcing him to struggle against Chadron's monstrous grip.

"We are dammed beings. There is no hope, no fate, nothing for any of us. The sooner you understand that fact, the sooner you'll accept that which must be done."

"You're wrong… brother…" Ragde said, struggling to speak.

"No, it is you that is wrong brother!" Chadron said hatefully as he punched Ragde in the stomach. He released the wounded Sceptile, and watched as he dropped on the ground, shaking and coughing in pain. Chadron grunted, walking out the room, head held high. Two soldiers came inside, and dragged the unconscious Ragde outside, back to his cell.

"Fael… you're such a damn fool." Chadron hatefully mused.

October 14, 2018. 9:15 am

Jubilife general hospital, lower level. Autopsy room

The wave of energy cleared at last, leaving almost nothing changed in its tsunami like wake. Silth released Edgar's skull, and moved his still glowing hand to the side. Edgar's monstrous body lifelessly dropped like a bag of rock, causing cracks and a slight dent.

"You killed him." Sectran softly said as he looked at the young beast, "now what are we supposed to do?"

"Just watch." Silth smugly replied as he stepped away from Edgar. There was sudden movement coming from the young beast. He suddenly burst out with coughs and hackles, slowly stirring back to life. His eyes no longer harbored an insatiable fervor for blood, but rather shimmered with the weak and confused look of a wounded and tamed animal. He flinched with every movement he made. With one final struggle, he managed to sit on his rear, wheezing heavily trough his vertical jaws. He blinked his three eyes, looking about his surroundings. He eventually settled his gaze on the pair before him.

"Um… Hi?" Sectran warily said as he raised his hand in a show of peace Edgar looked at him with slight confusion. Sectran slowly walked up to him, waving his left hand side to side. "Can you remember your own name?" He asked in a cautious tone.

Edgar looked down at his hands. He for all that was holy, couldn't remember anything about who he was or just what he was. He closed his eyes, struggling to make sense of everything. But no matter how much strain he put on his memory, nothing surfaced about his identity. He looked back at Sectran and sadly shook his head.

"Don't you remember who you are?" Sectran asked with some bewilderment, "I'm sure you do."

"He's got amnesia Sectran," Silth suddenly cut in, "It's actually a miracle that he can still understands English." He turned to face Edgar, "I highly doubt he can speak it though."

Edgar once again looked down at his hands, and took a deep breath of air. He opened his maw, straining his sore vocal cords. He began to make noises, some that sounded like growls, and others that sounded slightly like English. Finally, he took one deep breath of air, causing him great pain.

"I… can… speak…" He softly garbled in a faintly understandable manner. He took another deep breath of air, and stuttered his next few words. "Name… what… is… my, my, my… name?" He pointed a finger at his own chest. Sectran sighed, kneeling next to him.

"Sorry, I don't know your name. We were hoping you could shed light into that matter."

"Me?" Edgar asked with confusion. Sectran nodded in reply. "Yeah, you."

"But I can't…" Edgar suddenly groaned, grabbing hold of his own throat. He looked at the Sectran in the eyes, seemingly begging him for an answer. He shook his head regrettably, standing up and turning to face his companion.

Edgar looked at the floor, voice entirely gone. He grabbed hold of his face, feeling foreboding in his soul. Sectran helped him up, giving him some support.

Sectran and Silth both looked at Edgar with concern. Yet, their attention was turned elsewhere when the sound of marching caught everyone's ear. Silth motioned with his hand, to which Sectran replied with a nod. He directed Edgar towards the center of the room, where the Silth had already created what appeared to be some kind of dimensional rift. He turned to face the young beast and nodded.

"You may not have any idea of who you are or where, but if you wish to discover your identity, you'll have to help us out. A couple of our friends were captured, and we need someone of your talents to rescue them." He walked towards the rift, turning his head before completely vanishing. "I promise to help you recover your lost memories if you help us." He suddenly paused, and faced Sectran. "You ready?" He impatiently asked. Sectran gave him a thumb up with his right hand, the unconscious soldier known as 1255 safely secured under his left arm.

Silth turned to face the group. "By the way, name's Silth," he pointed at Sectran, "my friend there is Sectran." Silth then entered the rift, vanishing from sight. Sectran walked over to the rift and entered it without fear. He and 1255 vanished with no trace. Edgar hesitated at first, but quickly changed his mind when he heard the thundering sound of marching. He took a deep breath of air and jumped into the rift.

October 14, 2018. 10:10 am

Jubilife general hospital's entryway

Edgar

I shook my head. Everything was a blur of sickening colors. The world looked utterly alien; I couldn't remember how things were supposed to be. Everything had gone completely wrong the moment I exited the rift or whatever it was supposed to be. I reached for the nearest wall, and laid my weight on it. Head burned with pain, constantly reminding me of things I couldn't fully grasp. I tried to ease the mental strain on myself, pretending I had somehow lost my brain. But it failed. I grabbed my cranium, quickly realizing that something was not right. My hand felt too big for my head, or at least that's what I recall. The more I tried to make sense of it, the more my head throbbed. It was as if I was trapped in a vortex of images and ideas that never ceased to pour in. It was too much, too much!

I fell to the floor, panting with exhaustion, just about ready to empty my guts on the floor. My head continued to spin; the world was a blur of colors and images that made no sense. Everything was alien to me. Who am I? What am I? Just what am I supposed to do? I try to think clearly. Though the swirl of colors and letters, a name suddenly materializes. Olivia… Olivia? Olivia! Is that my name…?

AH! The pain! Why does the answer elude me?! Why does this name ring with such importance? What does this all mean?!

I try to stand up, but find myself too disoriented to do so correctly. There is a sudden thug on my arm. I look up and come face to face with Sectran, who is trying to help me up on my feet. I try to comply as best as my body can. I don't know who Sectran and Silth are. Are they old friends of mine? Are they part of some kind of military group that wants me dead? No, that's no it; they would have killed me by now. Who are they? And why did they want my help? It made no sense.

I had little choice in the matter now. Whatever these two had planned, I was in for the ride. I just hope Silth keeps his promise and helps me rediscover who I really am.

I get off the ground, and find myself being lead to a black van. I can sense hurried footfalls, all heading towards us. I have no idea what is going on, but something in the back of my mind begged me to run.

Nothing makes sense… Nothing makes sense…

End of Act Zero.


	4. The enigma

Act one, prologue: The enigma

October 14, 2018. 11: 45 pm

Unknown location

Edgar

Night arrived quicker than I could have predicted, blanketing the world in a dark and impenetrable black veil. The many shades of darkness transformed all that was mundane into sinister doppelgangers. The ordinary took on a whole new character. The moon was about halfway formed into a crescent, barely shinning its white light upon a world that so longed for it. The sky danced with bright starlight, an endless ocean of flickering diamonds. Over the hills and mountains, at the edge of the horizon stood a sea of bright gleaming shimmers, reminding me a lot of the stars above. The ancient woods chirped and shuddered with nocturnal life. To some creatures, nighttime only heralded yet another struggle to remain among the living. To other, it proved to be salvation.

A few hours ago, my memory and judgment had been with par of that of a comatose train wreck survivor. The world had been little more than a blur of colors and letters that had made little to no sense. It was nauseating and downright scary. The sense of confusion was still there, but I no longer felt afraid, the world made sense now. My own identity however, remained a mystery. The only thing I could remember name wise was Olivia. Olivia… something about that name comforted me; feeling like a pair of strong and delicate hands wrapping themselves around my chest. It filled me with a soothing and pleasurable sensation. Olivia was without a doubt, not who I was. Olivia was a female term, and I was no female. Who was she then? Why did she hold such a powerful sway over my very emotions?

It's no use. The more I try to make sense of things, the more things get mixed and twisted. I may have recovered my judgment and knowledge of the world, but the most important information of all still eluded me.

I faced the dark retreating road before me. I looked over the horizon; Jubilife was once again enjoying another night filled with the normal villainy and wrongdoings it was known for. From a distance however, the city almost looked like a peaceful place. I looked down, sighing hopelessly. My past, whatever it was, might be a total mess as far as I knew. What if I was some kind of murderer? What if I was something even worse? I again looked down.

It doesn't matter, even if my past is bad, I want it, I want it.

I faced the front of the van, looking right trough the front windshield. Something in the distance caught my eye. Within the dark and deep woods no one dared to cross rested something ancient. It stood tall and dominant over its surrounding landscape, filling any wayward creature with dread and awe.

The ruin looked almost primordial, far older than the trees that surrounded it. I don't know if it was noticeable, or my eyes, but I could clearly see the age in the walls. So old were they, they were riddled with vines and moss from ages long gone. All I had to do was look at what remained of the uppermost structure to know what the locale was. Many text trough the ages had described this place in some way or form. The celestial spire, the tower of Babel, the sky pillar, the stairway of the gods, just a few names to say the least. Most in the coalition region the structure as spear pillar.

What remained of spear pillar stood dormant and forgotten by the people who had once cherished and feared it. Even from a distance, I could feel the force the ruins emanated. I suddenly noticed that the van was heading directly towards spear pillar.

I turned to face Silth, who only gave me a reassuring smile trough his dark hooded face, eyes and mouth nothing more than green fiery lights.

I laid back and closed my eyes, tentacles, or at least what I think are supposed to be my tentacles, wrapped themselves around me. They stuck together and created a hooded cloak similar to the one Silth wore, except oily black color. My new covers produced a soft and warm sensation. I couldn't help but smile at it. Suddenly, my thought turned to that name once again, Olivia…

The warmth quickly multiplied tenfold. Whoever this girl was, she must be an angel, or at least the closet thing to it.

October 14, 2018. 12:03 am

Unknown location

Trough the old weathered bars was a bright white room. Floor and ceiling came together in a gentle and unnoticeable curve. Those inside seemed to float in white nothingness. No imperfections existed to the eye.

Within this pale locale sat two very different beings. One was humanoid in appearance, a female Gardevoir. She wore a white and green dress. The white parts blending with both walls and floor flawlessly. Her hair was a light green, her eyes a shinning ruby hue. Her skin was as white as her surroundings, delicate, gorgeous, and shining with youth and energy despite the fact that she laid pressed against the wall, broken and all but lost to despair. Her eyes told a tale of sorrow, one that the young girl desperately wished to forget.

The other being was a small purplish black figure, tall as six year old child. Unlike the Gardevoir, the young ghost trashed about, hitting the walls and metal door with all the strenght it could muster. But no matter how hard the young ghost tried; its efforts seemed to be getting it nowhere.

"Dammit!" The Banette shouted angrily at the top of its lungs, "why can't I go trough!?" The ghost once again ran towards the cell door head first, hitting the tightly shut gate with a rather sickening crash. The ghost loudly grunted in pain as it bounced several times backwards before coming to a halt on the floor face down, arms and legs spread widely.

"I can't break free…" The ghost whimpered as it struggled to get up. The young wraith rubbed its shoulder, and turned to face the young Gardevoir, who merely looked down at the floor, avoiding the ghost's sights. "Olivia!" it called out loudly, "can't you use your powers to try and break us free?"

Olivia didn't even look up. She said nothing. She continued to stare at the floor.

"Are you listening to me?" The wraith called out with annoyance, "we need to get out!" It shouted, hoping to get the Gardevoir's attention. Olivia slightly raised her head, and turned to face the young ghost, intense sadness more than evident in her sight. She suddenly burst into streams of silent tears as she shifted her sight to her left.

"What's the point Rasputin?!" She sobbed with great grief, "what's the point of being free if everything you have ever cared for is gone?!" She raised her head, "what's the point in even living?!" She closed her eyes, tears continued to pour down her delicate visage. "Face it, it's all over… He's gone… No point to have freedom now…" Olivia buried her head in her arms, which were crossed. She continued weeping.

Rasputin hopelessly exhaled. It stood up, and walked towards the wall, where it slid in a sitting position, back tightly pressed against the fortification. It then looked down at the floor rather regretfully. It let out one long sigh.

"Olivia," The ghost suddenly called out in a rather gentle tone, "did you really love him? Did you love him despite the fact he was a human?"

"W- What?" Olivia chocked as she raised her head to look at Rasputin in sudden shock due to the question imposed.

"Did you or did you not love him?" Rasputin asked again, crossing its arms and staring at her with some intrigue.

"I…I…" Olivia stuttered. Once again, her face twisted itself with sorrow as tears poured from her eyes. She cringed from the memory of the deceased, and wailed like a mother in her son's funeral. Rasputin rolled its eyes. It pulled out a clear flask full of yellowish liquid, and took a long gulp.

I am already a ghost, the young wraith thought to itself, I am a wraith, an essence of death personified mostly in flesh and blood. I feel no real reason to weep… It's heartless when I think about it more closely, but I had learned long ago that tears do nothing to bring back what has been lost. I should know, I tried… Tears only complicate things further than they should. I hated my own being for that very reason, but I knew well that sorrow and tears could do nothing now. Edgar had moved on. And he was a lucky bastard for it. Olivia was a different story though. What would become of her? Edgar, you're a bastard for dying. You killed Olivia along with yourself, you killed her…

October 14, 2018. 12:03 am

Unknown location

Olivia

I had wept for about half an hour, creating a pool of salty water around my weathered body. Rasputin had long given up on its question.

Strange, everything is so quiet… so empty… Edgar… It's, it's not fair! How could someone as good as you die so horribly!? How could I fail to protect you?! Why hadn't I been there to save you like I should have? When I found you… God, I can't even remember how I found you. I can't remember anything about that night… Why can't I remember!

…No… It, it can't be… It's my fault... your death was on my hands... there was no one to blame but me.

Now, it was my turn to die.

I walked up towards the guillotine, preparing myself to face a swift and well deserved judgment. The crowd quickly gathered around the block, expecting justice to be fulfilled. I could clearly see every last member of the mob, all of who were dresses in faded black garbs, shrouding everyone's face from me. I gazed ahead, hoping to find the solitude of empty air. Instead, I turned to face my executioner. A jet-black dress, a jet-black hood, and a twisted smile that shone trough the darkness, shining trough the blackness of her face. Her hands were ready to wring around a soft neck, my neck. The executioner appeared ready to do her job. I felt that this day, the executioner would be enjoying the kill even more than usual. I sighed hopelessly.

The executioner motioned with her hand towards the guillotine; I laid down on it without resistance. She scoffed bitterly raising the already blood stained blade. She struggled and grunted as the rusty metal scrapped against the old and withered wood, sending more than a few stray wood chips into the air. The screech reminded me of the tormented screams that most likely awaited me in hell.

The scrapping suddenly stopped, the rusty blade had reached its apex with a loud clank. I knew the end was near, and for the first time in my life, I did not dread its arrival.

The executioner suddenly cackled with deep malice. It was a laugh that shot chills down my spine. I look slightly to the right, expecting to see nothing. Instead, I see the executioner walk up to me, left hand still clutching the guillotine's rope. She harshly grabbed hold of my hair. She sneered, and then spoke with bashful words.

"How does it feel to finally get what you deserve?" she asked, "how does it feel to finally suffer the fate you imposed on the one you loved the most!?"

I said nothing. I could say nothing.

The executioner released my hair, and went for her black hood. She removed it, tossing it to the side in disgust.

My heart skipped when I realized who was to end my existence. Under normal circumstances, I would have screamed with terror.

Not today.

The horror I had once imagined faded away rather quickly. Fear was replaced by a deep understanding. Who else would be fitting of executing me other than… me?

My alter ego let out another cynical cackle as she walked towards the crowd. She raised her right hand into the air, and sneered madly, garnering a loud roar from the crowd, who lowered their hoods at that very moment, revealing to all of their true identities. I looked away, unable to bear the sight in front of my eyes. Hundreds upon hundreds of clones, all screaming for my blood.

Soon, it would all be over… The crowd's lust for death fulfilled.

Executioner Olivia released the rope, causing the rusty blade to race down toward my exposed neck. I knew the cut would be swift, and that the pain would only last for a split second. I knew my eyesight wouldn't fail for ten more seconds after separation, but I could bear that. I could bear that.

There was a sudden and very loud clank of metal. Everything had gone dark. I must have been dead… No, I could hear breathing and whispers. There was another loud bang of metal so loud, I opened my eyes. I immediately ran my hands over the spot where my head had been supposedly severed. It was still attached. I let out a relaxed sight. Rasputin, who had been woken by the loud bang, could only wonder why I acted in such a way.

The clatter of metal became even louder; coming straight from the door. It sounded as if heavy chains were being dragged over the ground, creating an almost unbearably loud commotion.

I slowly got up, body still sore from so much weeping. Something within me urged to continue to moving. Rasputin seemed just as surprised by the sudden commotion as I was. The wraith too got up with an annoyed look its face, cautiously moving towards the door.

The prison door violently flew open to the left, revealing three partially obscured figures, two of which seemed to be dragging the third.

"You had your chance." One of the three figures said loudly and hatefully, "now you rot with yer friends!" The two figures tossed the third being on the floor with a loud thud. They then closed the door forcefully.

Rasputin and I turned to face the figure on the floor, which groaned and hackled weakly. It didn't take the two of us long to realize who it was. It was Ragde, and he seemed to be gravely injured.

Rasputin quickly rushed to the Sceptiles' side, and carefully turned him over on his back, revealing a huge stain of blood on his stomach and maw. I gasped in horror as I too rushed to Ragde's side. Kneeling next to the injured Sceptile, I placed my left hand on his neck, checking for a pulse. I found it, but it was faint.

"Is he alive?" Rasputin asked me with apprehension. I quickly nodded in reply. "Yes, he still breathes." I looked at Ragde's blood stained stomach, and once again felt tears form in my eyes. "But I don't know for how long..."

"No…" The young ghost said in a grief-stricken tone. "He can't die! Not him!" I shook my head with sorrow. I begged to whatever gods were still out there that Ragde would live. I could not bear to think about another death in our broken family.

October 14, 2018. 12:33 am

Somewhere in Sinnoh's wilderness…

Edgar

The small armored van quickly rumbled on trough the dirt trail, whipping up a small cloud of dust in its wake. Within this metallic box myself and three other men, each one very different than the last, sat, waiting for some unknown event to unfold.

Silth sat back against the van's metal wall, arms crossed, breathing soft and regularly, seemingly deep in meditation or sleep. His eyes were widely opened, glowing with an unnatural green hue. His gaze however, seemed devoid of consciousness. His very features were obscured by a deep and dark misty green odorless smoke that danced around his face and torso, as well as the unnatural darkness of his hood. The haze was deep, so deep and impenetrable. Not even the bright sun could hope to penetrate it.

1255 forcefully sat against the van's wall, hands securely tied behind his own back. The young man continually struggled to cut his bondages loose. Now that his helmet was off, 1255's features were remarkably human, despite the fact that he bleed green instead of red. He had dark short green hair fashioned into a crew cut, a medium body build, and burly combat armor faintly resembling standard Coalition uniforms. His jade colored pupil-less eyes flared with both fury and scorn, so much so, it seemed they were just about ready to burst into green flames. Even his darkish mocha colored skin seemed to express his sentiment. He groaned as he fruitlessly struggled against his bindings.

Sectran sat on the metal bench nearest the driver, now wearing what looked like a mask combining Mayan and Chinese influences. The dark smile of the façade was raised into the mask itself, revealing his lips and slight skin color, which was as dark as 1255's. He seemed to be deeply engaged in conversation with the driver, who by the way is named Belatrix. By now, Sectran had all but shed his previous getup, which has been a Ripper soldier's uniform. He was now garbed in what appeared to be a dark blue bathrobe, a pair of gray shorts, an equally blue shirt, and a pair of black leather sandals. For some reason, Sectran seemed just about ready to go into a shower mask and all.

I smiled once again. I sat facing outside the moving van, feet dangling over the edge. I looked up at the night sky with a rather blank gaze, lost to my own thoughts. One of my three eyes was widely opened. I was barely hanging on to my consciousness. I just couldn't get any rest. When I did, I dreamt. Dreams of pure confusion they were. Everything was alien to me, everything. I now know several names, names that I assume belong to people in my cryptic past. Olivia was still there, still keeping me comforted through the mess that my mind was. The two other names I could recall made me feel uneasy. The first was Fael. Just the mention of the moniker sent chills down my spine. Something about it seemed sinister and powerful. The next name that made me unease was Edgar Sysoles. Memories of pain accompanied that name. Images of horrible things, terrible sins that seemed to defy all notions of terror. I couldn't even bring myself to utter the name if I could. It felt as if doing so would be as if casting a curse upon everyone present. Strangely enough, I couldn't help but feel a bizarre sense of understanding about the name. It felt so familiar, so natural...

I suddenly noticed the van come to a stop. I reared my head out of the doorway and looked about my surroundings. The van had halted moving just outside the old ruins I had spotted earlier. I turned to face the interior of the van, noticing both Sectran and Silth change character almost instantly.

Silth, who had been seemingly comatose, had all of a sudden stood up. Sectran said his final sentence to Belatrix and stood up as well. He stretched and cracked his neck quite graphically. He turned to face me, smiling with amusement. His teeth were nearly perfect.

Silth grabbed 1255 by the arm and violently shoved him towards the exit. I jumped out the van, making way for everyone else to get off. My eyes wondered all around, but settled upon the location before me.

Strangely, the ruins and surrounding woods didn't feel alien at all. I found it both exhilarating and strange. Was this where I used to live? It feels a lot like home. The strong urge to run about wildly hit me. Maybe I was starting to recover my memory. I hope I was.

"Wait here for a sec." Sectran told me as he and Silth headed towards the front of the van. I nodded in reply and continued to look around. My eyes of course settled on the most distinguishable feature around, spear pillar's ancient entrance.

The old decrepit tower was a much grander structure that I could have imagined at first. From a distance, it looked like nothing other than a giant cylinder of stone and bricks. Up close however, the old stained windows became clear and magnificent again. The ancient humans had taken the building of the structure to new heights, but I lied there. Humans hadn't been the only ones helping in the temple's construction; Pokémon had also help build it. Oddly enough; I could still sense the strong essences of both the men and pokémon who had worked here so long ago. Their silhouettes moved about like shadows in the moonlight, still going about their old motions. I could feel the grandness in each brick and stone, shinning trough ages long past. As I moved closer however, something foul struck my senses. It filled my soul with a deep trepidation. I could feel hatred and a deep pain. I could see the thousands upon thousands of corpses just lined at my feet. I could feel the cold hands of the dammed wrangling themselves around my very essence, all shouting innate babble and cryptic messages that held no real meaning. They all begged me in their own archaic languages for help, for forgiveness, for absolution. The shadows were no longer shadows, but very real figures in the night. They all turned towards me with moans and groans of anguish.

I begun to breathe heavy as images of horrible things flashed before my sight. I felt tears slowly swell in my eyes. I wanted to do nothing else than to help those that had been dammed. I fell on my knees, tears rolling down my three eyes. How could so much suffering exist in a place as hollowed as this? What did it all mean!? I could hear one particular voice trough the chorus of anguish.

"I think I'm dead… I think I died…" it softly whispered, "I don't know! I don't know!!!" It suddenly screamed. The shadow from where the voice sprung from turned to face me, its fetid face staring straight at mine. "The flesh of fallen angels…" It moaned in a deep and inhuman whisper. It pointed at me, maw dripping with fetid blood.

A hand suddenly grabbed hold of my shoulder, bringing me back to reality. The voices fell silent, the figures vanished from sight, and the air once again became breathable. I looked up the arm on my shoulder, and came face to face with Silth, who was looking at me with his glowing green eyes. He ducked next to me, seemingly feeling my suffering.

"You can see them too, can't you?" He asked with slight concern. I nodded, trying hard not to break out into sobbing again. He stood up, and helped me up as well. "This place is both hollowed and dammed." He scowled, "many died here not long ago." I looked at his eyes, dread slowly rising in my heart. Why did you bring me here? I wanted to ask him, but could not without a voice. Instead, I looked to what remained of spear pillar. It is because you want me to find something here, isn't it? I answered to myself.

Silth looked at me; his eyes peered deep into my soul. His strong voice echoed within my mind. "Your help is imperative to us all, but you cannot aid us in your current status." He smiled, "that is why you must first see someone very close to me. She's what you would call an oracle, and a damn good one." He grinned, teeth glowing in the same green fashion as he eyes. "If anyone can decipher your past, it's her."

I nodded. Somehow, what he said made sense. I wanted to discover who I was so badly I was willing to do almost anything to do so. I again looked at his eyes, and then at the ruins. I felt something tugging at my soul, something innocent and pure. It was there, trapped within the endless void of shadow, incorruptible and seemingly eternal. I couldn't understand why, but something called to me, drawing me into the blackness.

Silth nodded, stepping back. I fell on all four of my limbs, and quickly dashed towards the main entrance of the old tower.

The answers were all inside, waiting for me to discover and reap them.

To Be Continued…


	5. Beyond understanding

Act one, Chapter one: Just beyond understanding

October 14, 2018. 12:35 am

Spear pillar

Edgar

The masonry was ancient, laden with old and barely understandable memories of ages long gone. My head was crammed with whispers and echoes of the dammed. I couldn't even begin to think clearly, the voices wouldn't allow it. I could almost feel the cold and rotten hands of the dead spring fort from the ground to grab and drag me to the bowels of Hell. The higher I traveled, the more the voices haunted me. My mind was awash with moans and groans that tried to hitch into my very memories and use them to torment me. Lucky for me I had no memories in my head. I was slightly thankful, for madness was not a weapon anyone or anything could use against me.

Higher and higher up the endless staircase I traveled, upwards towards the ether above. Oddly enough, walking trough decrepit locales felt familiar and natural to me. Had I done this in that past? I didn't really know. Regardless, I would know soon enough.

After what I could have sworn to be an eternity, I reached spear pillar's apex. I climbed the very last flight on all fours, panting from exhaustion. When I set my eyes on the sky above, was shocked to discover that it was still night, the moon's position not having changed an inch since I last had seen it. I looked all around my surroundings, sensing a strong presence around. The air was saturated with deep fog, obscuring my sight to no end. I continued to cautiously move ahead, senses just about ready to go wild. I stopped at what I believed to be the middle of the tower's summit. I again looked around, but the mist had intensified nearly tenfold. I could feel cold waves of hair buffet my face, chilling me to the very bone.

Something wasn't right…

There was a bright flash of piercing white light bright as the sun all of a sudden. I covered all of my eyes, afraid that if the light might leave me blind. I could feel the warm heat strike my black oily skin.

Once the shine had passed, I looked directly where the light had originated. Right on that very spot now stood a shimmering figure, wrapped in what appeared to be a faintly shining silvery robe. The figure looked slightly humanoid, but I couldn't tell from my distance. I immediately became wary, my senses were going crazy. I could almost feel my nonexistent hairs stand on end. A voice unexpectedly rang in my head, sounding awfully like a young woman.

"Come forth…" She seemed to say in an accent less voice. I looked around in confusion, the voice didn't sound like any of the ones I had heard on my way in. It was clear, soft, and almost angelic.

Not knowing what kind action I should take, I moved closer to the figure. As I did, I could hear the countless voices of the dammed calling out to me again. They sounded angered this time. I tried to ignore them as best as I could.

"Do not be afraid, I mean you no harm." The voice rang in my head once again. It was clear now that the voice belonged to a young woman. I looked at the figure before me; it was becoming clearer with every step I took.

"I know what you seek from me young one." The figure raised an arm, and with it, beckoned me closer.

"Come closer and I can help you." The young woman's voice rang again, filling me with dread and hope all at the same time. The voice sounded strangely familiar. Too familiar…

The moonlight shone strong and unhindered in the middle, illuminating the figure, who I had determined to be the young woman in my head. Her veil of pure silver shone pure, even trough the deep fog.

I reached the center of the tower, finally standing face to face with the young woman in my head. I nervously reached towards her arm with my hand, trembling and afraid it was all a mirage of my already abnormal mind. The young woman, who had been facing the opposite direction, turned around to face me straight in the eyes. Her light blanketed me. I covered my eyes and face again, flinching out of instinct. I jumped back a few feet and fell on all fours, ready to pounce and attack. The light was brighter than the sun, burning not just my body, but my soul as well.

I growled out of instinct, but I ceased the moment I felt a pair of soft hands grab my shoulders. They lifted me up into the air, gentle and slow. I laid eyes on the young woman in front of my gaze, trio of my eyes widening. I fell on my knees as soon as my feet touched ground.

She was beautiful beyond words. I could almost feel tears building in my eyes. The being, which looked shockingly similar to a Gardevoir, had shinning white hair that glowed as if alive. Her skin shone in a faint white color, reminding more and more of the moon. Eyes where a light indigo that shone with the same radiance and magnificence of a star. She seemed flawless and eternal in every way. The young and gorgeous being, who could only be a goddess of ages long past, looked at me with slight surprise and slight interest. I immediately covered my face. No one as monstrous as me deserved to gaze upon such beauty. She giggled softly when I did, reaching towards my hands with ancient grace, completely unafraid of what I was. She softly grasped my claws, and carefully moved them out of the way looking at my uncovered face, and smiling with delightful innocence.

"Why do you hide your face from me?" She asked sincerely. I looked away from her, afraid that my looks would somehow corrupt her.

"Please, answer me." She remarked, grabbing hold of my face in the process. I opened my mouth to speak, but only a low growl escaped. I immediately covered my jaws and turned away.

The young woman grabbed hold of my face yet again, but this time, she pressed her forehead to mine.

"You no longer have a voice…" she spoke into my very mind. "Allow me to share some of mine." She positioned my face with hers, and to my horror, kissed me straight on the forehead.

For a moment, I was horrified that whatever disease I had contracted would jump into her, but as she moved her lips away, no such thing occurred. I was relived.

"Try to speak." She told me with a beautiful little smile. I opened my jaws once again, taking in a deep breath of air. I then tried to speak. To my complete surprise, Instead of an animalistic growl, my old voice sounded trough.

"I can speak!" I joyously shouted. I ran my claw over my neck, fearing it was only a one time deal. But my voice had indeed returned in full. I was no longer a mute creature.

"See, all you needed was a little help." She told me with a smile. Suddenly, she looked down, face looking rather miserable. Some of her shine faded away. "Just like I do…" I looked into her eyes, they looked saddened. I wondered what could have come over her.

She noticed my action, and suddenly changed mood right back to joy. She stood and threw herself on me, catching my completely off guard.

"I don't have to worry about a thing anymore!" the young Gardevoir looked at my eyes with a hopeful look. "You're here to save me!" She beamed, making my feel entirely uneasy.

Save? Silth never said anything about saving anyone or anything…

"Aren't you…?" The young Gardevoir again looked into my eyes, again catching me off guard. I was starting to feel completely helpless.

"Save you?" I asked with confusion. "Save you from what?" I backed slightly away, "save you from whom?"

"It's a very long story." The young Gardevoir sighed, "I highly doubt you'll want to hear it." She sat down on the floor, looking slightly miserable again. "You're just here to recover your memories, nothing else, am I right?"

"Uh…" I couldn't tell her the truth; after all, she had just helped me recover my voice. I looked around the area, wondering just what kind of horror could be causing one such as her to feel sad. I again settled my gaze on her. It was strange, the more I looked at her, the more familiar she seemed. It was as if I somehow knew her.

…

I couldn't hold the urge to ask any longer. I had to know.

"Excuse me…" I suddenly inquired, "Is your name by any chance, Olivia?"

"Olivia?" the young Gardevoir repeated with slight surprise.

It had to be her. She made me feel complete, it had to be her.

"No, I'm not Olivia." She replied rather surprised, "my name is Sophia." She looked again down at the floor, and so did I. Part of my past had once again eluded me.

Unexpectedly, the young girl's face lit up. She smiled as she stood up once again.

"Wait just one moment..." She grabbed hold of my face again, "can it really be you?" She smiled, "It is you!"

"Wait, who?" I asked with confusion. Sophia moved away a bit, than came back close to my face, making me feel rather uncomfortable.

"Your name… I'll tell you your name." she smiled rather hopefully, "but you must do something for me first."

"What?" I asked rather desperately.

"Help me get out of spear pillar, and I'll tell you everything I know of your past."

"What?" I asked in confusion. "Why can't you just walk out of here?" I grabbed her hand, "It's not so hard, I'll even show you the stairwell." I lead her out of the light, straight into the deep fog.

"NO!" she suddenly screamed in horror. I barely managed to catch the faint swooshing sound that originated from the darkness. I looked around almost by instinct, pushing Sophia back into the light, completely forgetting about myself in the process.

There was an explosion all of a sudden, right where I was standing. Rubble and dust flew in all directions, save where I had dropped. Some had even entered my eyes, causing me to flinch and groan in pain.

I looked at the spot where I would have been standing, sight barely having returned. I head Sophia gasp behind me, her voice filled with the outmost concern. I looked at my right arm, and completely understood why.

I could feel no pain, but I knew that what had occurred was not good. Reddish black ooze flowed out of what remained of my right arm. I looked at the spot where I had just been standing, a crater about my size was there, and it looked like a giant slash.

I looked back at Sophia, who was behind me, already tending to my wound, and then back at the spot.

I finally understood what kept Sophia trapped in the fog…

October 14, 2018. 12:48 am

Unknown location

Forty-five minutes had already passed since Ragde had been tossed into the cell like trash. Every second since then had passed nearly unnoticed. There just seemed to be no sings of recovery. The young Sceptile hovered between the fissure of life and death.

Olivia had all but surrendered her attempts at resuscitating the wood gecko. Rasputin merely emptied down its throat yet another bottle of spiced rum. How he had kept one after they were stripped down of all belongings was a mystery.

"It doesn't make any sense…" Olivia said to herself, "why are we being forced to suffer like this? What have we done that is so wrong?" She paused, and then sighed, nearly falling into weeping yet again. "Maybe this is our punishment for letting Edgar die…"

"That's nonsense!" Rasputin yelled out madly, cutting right into Olivia's monologue. It got up, and tossed the bottle of drum it drank straight at the cell's door, shattering the bottle and splattering the liquid all over. "We are being held here because of dumb law fabricated to keep something hidden!" He punched the wall fruitlessly. Rasputin groaned and produced yet another bottle of rum from behind its back.

"What are you talking about?" Olivia asked deeply confused.

"Don't you see?" Rasputin replied lividly, "Edgar stumbled into something so vile, not only did it get him killed, but also dammed us all in the process!" The wraith took a deep breath of air. "And now that he's gone, there is no one that will come and save us." Rasputin fell on his rear, and took a long swig of his bottle. "I'm sorry, but Edgar screwed up. The bastard really did i-"

"SHUT UP!!" Olivia suddenly and furiously shouted, eyes glowing a faint purple black. "DON'T YOU DARE INSULT HIM!" Olivia raised her hand; the same purple black glow surrounded the appendage. Rasputin was suddenly tossed against the wall he had punched earlier. The bottle he held in his right hand explosively shattered, carving some nasty cuts into the wraith's face.

Olivia gaped in horror. She lowered her hand and backed away, terrified at her own explosive outburst. Rasputin wiped some of the blood from his face, resentfully glaring at Olivia. But then, sorrow took the place of resentment. He lowered his face regretfully. "You're right, I shouldn't insult Edgar." It looked at the floor. "It's just that…"

"Rasputin." Olivia said softly. The ghost turned to face her and suddenly understood what Olivia was trying to say.

The young wraith slid onto its back and sobbed. "I have no right, no right at all."

Both Olivia and Rasputin sat on the cold ground. It didn't matter who was right and wrong, it was all over. Edgar was dead, Ragde was dying, and there was no hope of escape. Things were indeed grim.

Olivia sat against the wall, tired from everything. Her once lustrous eyes were dull and faded. Her hair was a nasty, oily, and a slightly unkempt mess. Her once flawless cheeks were stained with partially dried tears. Hands stained with blood and sweat. She cringed against that wall, unable to do anything to save those she cared for. Visions of past nightmares quickly flashed trough her already weary eyes. Dreams, premonition, she couldn't tell the difference anymore. Sometimes she hated her own abilities. She had felt the grave peril Edgar would face, yet she had lacked the true clairvoyance to stop it. She always lacked the capabilities to foretell true events; she was not powerful enough to truly see into the future. She banged the back of her head against the wall, feeling damned and cursed.

There was a sudden groan of pain, followed by the sound of shifting leaves and straining bones. Olivia and Rasputin both turn to face the source of the commotion. It was Ragde. He was slowly starting to come to. He stretched his arm to the left side, forcefully turning himself on his stomach. He strained his arm, slowly but surely recovering. "Ragde!" Olivia and Rasputin both shouted in unison. They both rose from their pitiful positions and rushed towards the injured Sceptile, who trough sheer will, had managed to get on his feet. "Are you ok?" Olivia asked worriedly, helping the Sceptile by holding on to his shoulder. "We thought you would not make it trough."

"…How long was I out…?" Ragde weakly asked.

"About 45 minutes." Rasputin replied, "but I don't know if you were out longer outside the cell." He added with a doubtful tone.

"We have to get out…" Ragde stood up straight, and gently pushed Olivia out of the way. "You both have to leave… Before it's too late..." He coughed, holding on to his chest, flinching and wincing in agony.

"No," Olivia said shaking her head, "we will not leave without you. We are family, and family does not separate."

"Forget about me!" Ragde shouted with annoyance, "I am meaningless! Its y-" Ragde's words were cut short as the loud bang echoed trough the cell. The door suddenly slid open, revealing three human figures.

"It's time to move!" One the humans loudly shouted as he and his companions moved into the room. "The General says it's time to take you both down for questioning." He pulled out what looked like a stun gun of some sort, lighting the item with one loud crack. "Don't make this any harder than it already is." The man in charge signaled his men. Within seconds, they had subdued and bound both Rasputin and Olivia by the hands.

Ragde growled with anger, but found himself almost unable to move. "Leave them alone!" He shouted, "they don't know anything! They don't deserve this!"

"We aren't taking any chances. Besides…" the man in charge smiled, "weather or not they deserve this is yet to be decided."

"Sir," one of the soldiers suddenly called out, causing the commander to turn around rather annoyed. "Don't forget what the general said about this one." He pointed at Ragde, "He is not needed. Not anymore at least."

The commander looked at Ragde, and chuckled. "You're right! I almost forgot what the general told me." The commander walked up to Ragde, who glared at him with hatred. "Chadron sends this with love and kisses." The commander sarcastically said. He pulled out his crystal sword, grabbed the weakened Ragde by the head, and pulled him back, revealing his throat entirely. He smiled, directing what little gaze he could muster at Olivia and Rasputin, both of whom looked utterly terrified.

"Don't worry…" The commander smiled sadistically as he drove his blade right trough Ragde's neck, causing a huge splatter of blood on the ground. Ragde coughed up blood. He grunted and panted, the neat white blade having cut right trough his vocal cords. Somehow though, Ragde smiled with defiance as he fell on his knees, and then face first on the ground.

Olivia and Rasputin could feel Ragde's life energy quickly disappear. Olivia and Rasputin both looked away, unable to see their friend suffer and die.

The commander cackled as he turned around, and looked at his two distraught prisoners. "I did the bastard a favor." He walked towards the pair, sadistic smile in two. "When you both find out what awaits traitors like yourselves…" he grabbed hold of Olivia's chin, "You'll beg me to do the same." He released her chin and smiled with malice. "Take them away."

"Yes sir!" the soldiers replied as they led Rasputin and Olivia down the hall.

The commander turned around and scowled at the Sceptile's corpse. He walked up to it, and pulled out his real gun. The man took the safety off, and aimed straight at the dead Sceptile's head, the General's words clearly resonating in the man's memory like a hive of angry hornets.

"_Once you kill him, make sure you double kill him. Guy has the nasty habit of refusing to stay dead for too long."_

"Yes sir." The commander said as he pulled the weapon's trigger.

The gunshot was virtually unheard, for the man had a silencer at the end of his weapon.

The commander walked out of the cell, closing the door behind him. Smile still planted on his face.

Inside the cell, Ragde's body lay motionless. All of a sudden, he twitched his finger.

October 14, 2018. 12:50 am

Spear pillar

Edgar

Sophia had ripped some of her silvery dress and used the torn piece of cloth to wrap up my freely bleeding arm. She seemed to be in a complete state of horror. For some reason, it looked like she was the one in pain.

"It's ok, I don't feel any pain." I told her in an attempt to calm her down. "You don't have to rip your dress in order to help me. I don't deserve such treatment."

"Nonsense!" Sophia replied in a rather defiant tone, "If you leave wounds like this open, you'll bleed to death." She looked at my eyes; a strong determination was in them. I sighed and let her continue. Her actions caused the blood to stop flowing instantly, but I still felt no pain. I smiled at her; I didn't want her to worry anymore.

We both looked at the crater; my eyes analyzing it rather arbitrarily. "Who is keeping you trapped?" I turned and asked the Sophia, "why does it want you to stay here?"

"It's a very long story." She replied, saddened about something unseen. She looked at my eyes and smiled. "Ah yes… I can see your innermost feelings." She continued to look into my gaze, focusing more and more on my third eyeball. "I remind you Olivia, am I correct?"

"I don't really know." I tried to get up, but found it strangely difficult to do so properly. "You seem very familiar. I don't know if it has anything to do with this Olivia person or not." I looked at what would have been my right arm, still feeling no real pain. "I don't even know who Olivia is." I then looked at her. "I don't even know who you are." I suddenly glared at her. "Just who are you really?" I squinted my eyes and looked at Sophia in a highly suspect manner.

Sophia giggled slightly, covering her mouth as she did. She too stood up, but unlike me, she did it effortlessly. "As you already know, my name is Sophia." She smiled, "and as you can see, I am no ordinary Gardevoir."

"I can tell that. You seem to be…" I paused, looking at Sophia from head to toe. "I don't know what you are exactly."

"Well, between you and me, I am what you would call an acolyte, a follower of the universal father of creation."

"You mean like a devout follower of Arceus?" I shrugged, "but I thought he was a mythological being, you know, a legend."

"He may be a legend and myth now," Sophia smiled at me, "but soon, he will become whole once more. When that day comes, the whole world will be purified and saved from the evils that plague it."

"You mean like a sort of Rapture?"

"Yes, exactly like Rapture."

"But what do you mean that he is a legend now?" I asked highly confused. "Wasn't he always a legend?"

"No, not at all. Once, he was real." Sophia suddenly scowled, "That is, until everyone forgot about him. He was lost to us all not long after that." She smiled once again. "But soon, that mistake will be repaired."

"Why?" I asked, scratching my cranium. "Why would you say that he will be returning soon?"

"All the foretold sings have begun to appear. All the prophecies are coming true. It's only a matter of time."

"I don't know…" I mused over the idea of a god returning to earth. "What if it all turns out to be something different? What if something bad happens?"

"Don't loose your faith yet." Sophia grabbed my shoulders, smiling as she did. "A day will come when everything makes sense. Until that day comes, all we have is hope."

"Just who are you really?" I asked, becoming more and more intrigued with every passing moment. Sophia merely giggled, sitting back on the ground.

I sighed, giving up on my question. I sat on my rear rather quickly, figuring that Sophia would not give me a straight answer. I looked at her, and felt rather annoyed. "Look, if you're not going to give a straight answer about yourself, then at least tell me one thing; do you now know who Olivia is?" I grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook them a bit. "Do you know who she is?!"

"Yes." Sophia replied in a rather amused tone. She looked at my eyes and spoke rather slowly. "Olivia Dubois is my half sister once removed. She's a very nice gal if somewhat weak." She crossed her arms, "you wouldn't believe just how in love she is with this one guy…" she gave me a rather playful look, "but that's something you'll have to find out later on."

"Later on when?" I asked rather annoyed. Sophia only gave me a look, and I knew what she meant, as soon as I got her out of the tower. How the hell I was going to accomplish it was an entirely different matter altogether. Something was out there, hiding in the mist, something that didn't want Sophia out.

But I had enough of just waiting around. I stood up quickly, and using my idle tentacles, wrapped Sophia in a tight embrace, firmly planting her into my back. I looked back at her face, and could sense a small amount of fear in her. I smiled as best as I could, reassuring her that I meant no harm. I turned towards the thick mist, and fell on three limbs. I took several steps back, and before I could even think about it, launched myself at the dark mist.

I strode fast and hard, not even caring where I was heading. I could hear a set of swift footfalls quickly follow me.

Good, whatever the thing was, it was trailing me. If I was to fight it, I was going to do it where I wanted and how I wanted.

To be continued…


	6. The power of an epiphany

Act one, chapter two: The power of an epiphany

October 14, 2018. 12:52 am

Spear pillar

Edgar

The fog's getting thicker; I can't even see an inch in front of my face. I can hear footfalls, fluttering steps just beyond my sight. I sense someone or something gyrating around me at high speed, studying me closely trough the obscurity, examining my every strength and weakness. I can feel Sophia shift uncomfortably in my back, breathing heavier and heavier with every passing second. I can feel her anxiety building up to the point of sheer panic. Something isn't right; I can fell it radiate from every direction there is. Left, right, down, up, all directions fill me with dread, making the deep fog the more unsettling. I glance back at my companion trough the corner of my left eye, curious to see her expression. Just as I thought, it is one of fear. She isn't trembling, but I can sense the dread in her being. Something isn't right…

Out of nowhere, an attack comes, catching completely off guard. I raise my left arm and somehow manage to parry the incoming slash. The sharp blade sticks itself deep into my bony forearm, halting dead in its tracks. I can feel something liquid drip down the sides of my limb, but I feel no pain. I look at the protruding object; I can barely make out a faint shadow from the other side of the fog. I hear a grunt, and suddenly feel a great deal of force shove me to the side. I stick my talons into the hard granite and ride out the push. I stand on my feet and look at the spot. The figure is gone, vanished into the gray nothingness. I grunt. Whatever is attacking me, it's far better than I could have foreseen.

I look at my left arm and frown. It's now barely hanging by the innermost bone, almost all the black flesh was stripped away by the violent advance. I again glance at Sophia, who is holding on to me tightly. I give her a slight smile or reassurance, being careful to not show the damaged appendage. She looks at my eyes with sadness and regret, as if she held something of great shame deep in her.

I catch the sound of rapid footfalls nearing me at high speed. This time, I am prepared. As soon as the blade shoots out at me, I duck. It misses my head by a few inches, giving me a clear shot at the attacker. My left arm is far too weak to use as a bettering tool, so Instead, I use some of my free tentacles. I shot them fort like spikes, quickly flying trough the fog. I feel them strike and snare something. I smile. I drag whatever is in the shadows and knock it right in front of my sight. The figure is still mostly shrouded, but I can make out its form. It is humanoid, yet looks oddly golem-like. I can see hairs protrude from the back of its head, as well as from its arms. Suddenly, it stands up, kicking me in the chin. I stagger back momentarily, only to feel a strong jab strike my stomach. I flinch and return the favor with my own arm. The being doesn't even hesitate to grab hold of it, and pull it right out, bone and all. I hear a sick popping noise as I fall back. Knowing that my weight would surely crush Sophia, I divert it, instead hitting the floor on my side. I look up at my attacker, groaning slightly as I do. My arm still is still in its mitts. I can't see its face, but I can tell that the being means me absolute harm. He drops it next to me and vanishes once again.

I try to stand, but without arms, I find it quite demanding. I focus all my will, and using a few of my tentacles, manage to barely rise. I smile victoriously, but still remain wary.

I suddenly hear Sophia's rather expected gasp of horror as she sees my now missing left arm. She tries to speak, but her words are drowned out by something. Her words seem distant and muted, as if she spoke to me from miles away. I turned, feeling that something sharp and painful was heading my way. I noticed the black shape near my position, arms stretched out into an attack pose. Having to arms, I used the same tentacles I had used to get up to cover my abdomen. Regrettably, it wasn't enough to stop the blow headed towards my navel. This time around, a sharp and debilitating pain shot up from the lowest parts of my spine all the way up to the very crown of my head. I gasped as acidic fluids shot fort out of my esophagus like a garden hose. I fell on my knees, gasping for air. I looked up slightly, barely able to discern form and shape. There was a sudden blow to my head, followed by a bright flash of light and small specks of shining silver that danced right over my three eyeballs. I rolled two of my pupils back, slowly falling to the side. I could hear Sophia scream with fear, but I was not listening. The only thing that greeted me was darkness, deep, cold, ancient, and absolute.

???

???

…Where… Where… uh… I… I… can't… uh… where…

I see a bright light, bright, too bright. I see someone, who is that? Who is this young man walking down the hallway? Who is this young man who seems lost from time and sight? What is he doing down in this dark and dreary hole? Why… Who… Wait… he seems familiar, very familiar… Have I met him before? Do I know him?

Wait, I feel something… Something…

He walks towards the entrance of some ancient and forgotten location. The walls and floors are stained with age, rusting for untold amounts of years, decades, centuries. The air smells deeply of death, deaths brought forth by an unforeseen yet sought out force. The walls tell a tale, a tale of horror, a tale that spans every man, women, and child's deepest nightmare, of power gone wrong, of inhuman knowledge that can damn a soul. Hundreds, no, thousands, of dead rotting voices call out in the dark, just like they did in the tower. They spin a tale straight out of the bowels of hell.

Oh god, they still haunt this place, filling it with their undying presences.

Suddenly, I see everything clearly; I see who the young man is. I can see the way he heads; unaware of just what waits him down the rabbit hole.

The young man looks about his surroundings, clearly amazed with the structure before him. I can tell from his wide eyed look of wonder that he was very impressed by what he saw. His wonder clearly shrouded his judgment, for he was blind to the truth hidden just behind each doorway and hatch.

I suddenly lost track of the young man, instead coming face to face with something unnaturally vile. I saw something shimmer in its eye. Its skin was sickly, old, and melted into thick black ooze, fangs sharp and bloodied. It stared deep into my very soul, spewing nonsensical gibberish that sounded an awful like English.

I averted my gaze, disgusted with the sight before my eyes. The monster started to fade away, and I returned back to the real picture, back to the young man whom I had earlier seen. By now, he had stumbled right into some kind of lab. I use the word stumble because he literally tripped right in. that's what happens when you don't watch your step. The young man stood up quickly and wondered at his surroundings. The labs still had most of their power active, but by what means that power ran was a rather disturbing mystery. What if the power grid was run trough radioactive methods? What if the young man was unknowingly standing in the middle of a giant dormant nuke? I could tell from his eyes that he didn't want to know the answer, and neither did I.

The young man and I both continued to look around like wonder stricken children. I don't know if he saw them, but I sure did. Things, wondrous things, mysterious things, things that I wanted to grasp with my non-existential hands. The one thing I did notice was that the young man paid a great deal of attention to was a giant half tattered portrait of Giovanni. Underneath his sly smug read, "Our founder" in big, bold gold letters. The young man then turned to his left, eyes shimmering with greater-than-average interest. There, entirely covered in thick dust was a rack full of pokeballs, waiting for some unknown handler to take them away.

The young man puzzled over the rack, and then fearlessly walked up to. He quickly picked up one of the containers. He inspected it closer, and even sniffed it. His head reeled back; he coughed and looked away from the container. He shook his head and tossed the ball to the side.

There was a bright flash of white, a large figure suddenly materialized from the blue. Even I, who didn't seem to have a physical body, couth wind of the foul stench. I fruitlessly tried to cover my nose and looked at the floor. Before the young man was the badly decomposed body of a large Tyranitar, his flesh dripping to the sides like red rotten jelly.

I couldn't take it anymore, both the smell and the ideas that ran trough my head. I could tell that the young man felt the same way. He ran towards the nearest hatch door and tossed it open with all his might. He ran inside, leaving me to face the horrid fetid corpse.

Suddenly, and to my great horror, the corpse begun to move. It was nothing more than a little shudder at first, but that quickly escalated to more vivid movements. Before I could even register the idea, the Tyranitar's corpse had all but stood up, flesh constantly slipping off his sides. He looked straight up at me and smiled; eye sockets devoid of any eyeballs. He opened his maw, hissing and growling slowly escalating to screaming levels. "You know who you are… you know what you are…" the Tyranitar's voice echoed trough the darkness. "The time will come when you must face the horror that is your past and future… the time will come when someone dear will dye her hair red…" the corpse smiled at me, teeth rotting and dripping with green rotting ooze. "The flesh… The flesh…" Suddenly, I head voices echo from everywhere. All directions seemed to pose screams and nonsensical gibberish. I grabbed hold of my head and screamed as loud as I could. The darkness swallowed me yet again.

October 14, 2018. 12:53 am

Spear pillar

Edgar

I open my eyes, and come face to face with Sophia, who had just finished giving me CPR by pressing against my hard bony chest constantly. I could see tears shimmer in her eyes, dripping to the sides like small flickering diamonds. I wondered why she would even bother crying over such a creature as I.

I groaned, feeling as if a truck had just rammed itself against my head going at a hundred miles and hour. I raised my right arm, or at least what I had believed to be my right arm. I frowned rather quickly, quickly remembering what had happened to it earlier that very evening. I groaned rather unhappily, I was completely defenseless.

I stared deep into Sophia's horror struck face. She seemed fear the worst for both of us. I could almost feel her raw terror, terror that something had gone very wrong, but what? What could have gone wrong?

I decided to not worry her further, so I gave her a weak smile, straining my abdomen as I tried to get up. I hadn't even realized that Sophia, along with my slew of tentacles, helped me up to my feet. I could understand why my hair like appendages helped, but Sophia? Why would she help me?

I again heard rapid footfalls trough the thick fog, they got closer with every heartbeat. I nodded at Sophia, showing her that it was ok to let go of abdomen. She looked at me with concern, but let me go just the same. I half stumbled forward, somehow maintaining my balance. I had no arms to fight, but I needed none. All I had to do was get a clear shot at the bastard attacking me. One shot to the face was all I needed. I don't know how, but I highly doubted my tentacles would miss their mark.

I stood my ground, waiting for my attacker's next move. I listen to the air carefully; every last sound resonated within my head as clear as if I was right next to it. Every last breeze of wind, every last drop of microscopic water, every last heartbeat, all as if played trough an amp. I focused my eyesight, straining my trio of eyes to their very limits. The deep fog seemed impenetrable at first, but the more I stared, the softer it became. All of a sudden, I could make out some of the features of the tower's uppermost area. The broken down walls were littered with thousands of strange little symbols, all appearing to utter messages and warnings in a long forgotten language. I could see the strange figures drawn to the rotting walls, figures that appeared strangely Mesoamerican in composure and style. I could see vivid descriptions of ancient rites and traditions, I could see the old shapes of what the ancient believed Pokemon to be. I could see the largest of this figures, standing with two giant halo-like structures on its back, eyes gleaming like jade stars in their last throes of life, stared deep at my very soul, warning me of a grave trespass against it.

I staggered back slightly as the idol's jade eyes burned a hole into me. I almost didn't catch the sharp blade aimed at my head, but luckily, I head a faint swoosh of air behind me. By instinct, I ducked out of way, but the blade still managed to hack off several of my black tentacles and scrape against by bony cranium.

I hit the ground, gaze still centered on the strange idol. Something about it made me feel entirely uneasy, as if a great, powerful and sentient thing watched my every last move.

I again felt the air around me shift, signaling another attack directed straight at me. I rolled to the side quickly, not even thinking about my move. I felt something hard strike the spot where I had but laid a few scant moment ago. Debris flew all over as I turned to see a pall of black dust and rock. I then saw the figure jump straight into the air and fall back down towards me, a hammer-like weapon tightly gripped in its hands.

I scowl; I have no way to get out of this one unharmed...

October 14, 2018. 12:55 am

Spear pillar

Sophia screams out in horror as she witnesses her assailant crush Edgar's head like a watermelon. Black ooze flies in every conceivable direction, landing with sickly sounding splashes. She looked straight at her attacker, standing still out of pure fear. Tears quickly formed in her eyes; tears of both sorrow and terror. Her heart raced at more than a hundred miles an hour, skin having gone ice cold. Eyes widened far beyond natural standards, sweat dripped down like artic drops of frost. All the while, the young girl tried her hardest to make sense of everything that had transpired, everything that was still to come. She couldn't even begin to imagine, to consider what it all meant.

No, this can't be happening… Why would he… no, no, no, he can't, he wouldn't…

The hostile figure slowly straightens up, its huge silhouette taking up a good portion of the fogy backdrop. It picks its weapon up, chunks of Edgar's freshly crushed skull still falling off bit by bit. The being quickly turns to face Sophia with a pair of soulless glowing eyes. It snorts deeply and in a masculine tone, slowly moving his head towards the petrified Gardevoir. She gulps deeply; she was next on the chopping block.

Sophia totters back instinctively, constantly looking around the fog laden tower. She seemed to be expecting something or someone.

No, no, no… This isn't supposed to happen… this isn't how it's all supposed to work out…

Sophia backs away from her attacker until she reaches one of the many ruined outer walls. She looks back at the barrier, and then forward, silvery tears begin to roll down the sides of her face, hitting the ground with the glowing aura of a terrified moon.

No, don't do this… please… this; this isn't how it was supposed to work…

Just like with Edgar, it seemed that the being only wanted to do the outmost harm. He inched closer and closer with every passing second, shifting his weapons from side to side in a show of intimidation, footfalls sounding off to the resonance of frightened heartbeats. After what could have been mistaken for hours, the being came within inches of Sophia's face. He cracked his neck loudly, raising his hammer-like weapon high in the air. Sophia, whose face was damp with tears of utter terror, found herself completely unable to move away from the path of the weapon's fall. Fear had paralyzed her to the very core. She flinched, knowing well that she too would suffer the same fate as Edgar.

There was a loud crack as the hammer fell hard, blowing all the fog in the vicinity away.

October 14, 2018. 12:55 am

Unknown location

Olivia

The room was dark, dark and cold. I couldn't see much in front of me, yet I could sense pair of equally black and cold eyes scrutinize my body with great prejudice. I tried to move my head away, but found it almost impossible, for something very strong held it in place, straining my muscles past the point of soreness. I wanted nothing but to move, lie, and die.

Suddenly, a cold voice rang from somewhere in the shadows. I couldn't tell why, but the sound of the voice, which was undeniably male, was chilling to the bone, but also so familiar. "You sure gave us quite a bit of trouble. Yeah, you did you imperfect piece of crap." The voice harshly rang. "To think that you of all subjects would survive this long… It makes me both sick and proud." A light suddenly pierced the darkness, a light solely directed at me. I squinted both my eyes, nearly going blind in the process. "Did you really think that you would escape for too long? Did you really believe you had a chance?" The voice laughed cruelly. "Please, only a fool would think such moronic thoughts." I look into the light, eyes finally becoming clear. I see a strange being, wearing a white lab coat. I look closer at faintly illuminated figure before me; shape seems oddly feminine, yet muscular and robust. I can faintly see some kind of robe, a white and green robe that reminds me of my own dress. I look into the figure's weakly glowing eyes, expecting to see anything but black and red. I gulp. Green hair, white skin, frail shape, feet barely touching the ground, stronger-than-average psychic energy… It can't be…

"What's the matter? Can't bear to face your own father?"

"Father…?" I faintly mouthed. God, my throat hurt so much. I look at the figure one more time, hoping it were all an illusion. It is at this moment that the full realization of what is before me hits me hard. The figure is indeed a Gardevoir, but he's male, something I never though I would see outside of some very specific conditions. Usually, males choose to transform into a Gallade out pride, or out of necessity. Those who didn't usually did it because they were either homosexual or didn't have the money to get a dawn stone.

I noticed the man's face change as soon as those thoughts enter my mind. He looked at me, scowling with great displeasure. "I know what you think." He said rather unpleasantly, "you wonder why I am not a Gallade?" He grunted; great bitterness present in his tone. "You can blame your grandfather for this. Damn that bastard to hell." He smiled rather maliciously. "But that's not the point. The point is: why you still live." He came near me, looking into my eyes. "More importantly, why were you hanging around both Edgar and Fael?"

"Fael…" I say rather weakly. I can't feel my arms, legs, and torso. It feels as if I was little more than a disembodied head. I gain look at the man, doubt quickly filling my heart. "Dad…" I mutter rather weakly.

The man smiles and looks into my eyes. "That's right sugar, I am your father… though sometimes I whish I wasn't, especially considering what your two other siblings went and did." He scowls. "Those traitors went and joined with Silth, who by the way wants you and that boyfriend of yours for…" He sneers, "Undisclosed reasons."

"Undisclosed…" I softly and weakly ask in confusion.

The man that is my supposed father smiles as he retreats into the darkness. "My acquaintance here will explain everything to you… and then maybe I'll consider you part of our little mutual group…" He grunts with displeasure and vanishes into the black abyss behind him, leaving me with far more questions than answers.

Suddenly, a pair of blazing, inhuman green orbs shine from the same black abyss. I could hear heavy footsteps emanate from ahead. The silhouette of a tall man follows a few seconds later, encasing almost all of my sight. The man's obsidian Mesoamerican mask was the most notable aspect of his figure, for everything else remained shrouded in an unnatural darkness. The man took one look at me, and leaned over, inching too close to my own face. "Well then Olivia," he said joyously, "let's peer into the eyes of truth and the unfathomable." He snaps his fingers, and the light intensifies to levels I had only seen shine from the sun. It blinds me entirely.

I, for the second time in my life, I had no idea what was happening before me. All I could do was wait; wait and wonder.

October 14, 2018. 12:56 am

Spear pillar

There was a loud crack. It didn't ring like bones being broken or tendons being popped, rather, it sounded as if something hard met something even harder, much like a smith hammer's strike against an anvil. Sophia, who had up to that moment resigned herself to her grisly fate, opened her eyes, quickly looking up in awe. Before her stood Sectran and Silth, both of whom had shown up just in the nick of time to save her life. Sectran grabbed hold of the hulking being's chest, holding him from moving an inch more. Silth, using both is hands, had caught the weapon mid-flight. He looked up at the being, eyes glowing with great intensity. He snatched the laceraxe-a weapon that mixed a sword, axe, and hammer-from the being's hands and tossed it to the side. He then punched the being in the face, and with the help of Sectran, tackled him to the ground. He then grabbed hold of his head, which was encased in a strange face protector, and looked him deep in the eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Silth yelled at the top of his voice, "You stupid son of a-" He punched the being across the face. "You ruined everything!" he grabbed the being by the throat, and using inhuman strength, tossed him against one of the many decaying walls, causing quite a fair amount of destruction. He walked up to the now lying being, and with inhuman strength, forcefully removed the being's faceplate.

Silth reeled back almost instantly, eyes wide full of shock. He only had to take one look into the being's uncovered visage, to realize the ugly truth. "You're not blade!" he yelled loudly, grabbing the being's throat with maximum force. "What have you done with him!" he roared loudly. The being only laughed maliciously, eyes suddenly becoming hollow. "He's home, with father and the others…" the being continued to laugh, laugh hard and low, his skin, eyes, and even bones begun to suddenly melt, turning into a crimson soup. The being looked on with his eyes for one last time before they flowed out of his eye sockets and joined all of his other liquid body parts. The being's laugh started to glitch, sparks and small explosions erupted from the body. "Oh shit!" Silth loudly called out as he realized that the being's body was puffing up like a balloon. He grabbed Sophia and Sectran by the torsos, jumping away from the body at full speed. "Get down!" He loudly ordered; Sophia and Sectran did.

There was an incredibly loud explosion; one that shook the very ground and further cleared the sky of fog. Silth released Sophia and Sectran, both of who got up to survey around. They were shocked to discover a gaping crater where the body had once rested. They both turned to face Silth, who looked peeved beyond comprehension. He clutched his fist tightly. "Dammit!" He yelled, grabbing hold of his head. He looked at Edgar's corpse, still lying in a pool of black ooze. "It got us good…" he muttered. He turned to look at Sophia and Sectran, scowl rather visible. "That's it, it's all ruined, all our planning, all our careful attention, every last detail we tried to flesh out, flushed down the crapper." He brought his shaking first up. He was piqued.

Sectran sat on his rear, breathing rather heavily under his mask. "What just happened?"

"We came all this way for damn nothing." Silth groaned loudly, eyes showing the greatest desire to punch the nearest living thing. "Edgar's dead. We lost."

"Who the hell was that?" Sectran asked; pointing at the crater left over from the explosion. "That was most definitely not blade."

"That was a decoy, bio mechanical." Silth knelt next to one of the few remaining parts of the now destroyed being. "From the looks of things, an augmented clone of some kind, made in only one possible locale…"

"A what?" Sophia suddenly asked, confusion clearly resonating in her voice.

"He means a copy of your brother. But that would mean that someone got to him when we weren't looking…" Sectran looked at Silth. "Who could have pulled off something like that?"

"Someone with access to the old Rocket labs." Silth tossed the tattered piece of metal to the side. "No other place on the planet has the capability to pull of this kind of technology, I know, I helped make it."

"Do you think Blade's ok?" Sectran asked, picking himself up a piece of metallic debris.

"He would have to be; otherwise these clones would not function at all."

"So now what?" Sectran inquired. Silth merely faced the sky. "We pay that damn place a visit. We find Blade, destroy whoever or whatever is making clones of him, and then we find her."

"Her?" Sectran asked in disbelief. Silth looked at him in the face and nodded. Sectran looked at Sophia, who in turn gave him and Silth a look of utter shock. "But Silth," Sophia begun, "she is being held by Chadron and… and…" She gulped, "father…"

"I know that, which is why we will need blade's help if we are to pull it off." He looked at Edgar's corpse. "I was hoping that Edgar would be the key to solving our problems, but it is now quite apparent that someone does not want it that way." He turned to face Sophia. "Whoever is responsible will most likely try to kill Olivia next, and we can't have that happening."

"Just what are facing?" Sectran asked. "Who would have enough clearance and will to use the Rocket labs?"

"I know of someone who would have both, but he is supposed to be dead." Silth said rather grimly. He faced the stairs. "Let's pray that it isn't him making all this trouble." Silth walked towards the stairs, his black smoke left a noticeable trail.

Sectran and Sophia looked at each other, and then quickly followed Silth down the stairs. As they did, pitch black clouds suddenly rolled in, shrouding everything in darkness. Thunder clapped, heralding heavy rain.

The water's rhythm-which sounded like thousands upon thousands of small explosions-washed all the black ooze away, leaving only the corpse of a young dead monster to rot away in peace. The fog cleared, revealing all of the tower's decrepit beauty. Walls decorated with strangely Mesoamerican looking images and hieroglyphs, all telling a tale that few could comprehend, and fewer could actually grasp. Right in the middle of the ruined walls, in what appeared to be a half destroyed staircase, laid half of a giant figure, shape and colors faded away by time. It stood on four legs, all of which ended in sharp golden hooves. Its eyes shone with a vivid jade color, about the only thing that still shone from the original figure. The golden arches that rested on its back also had a bit of gold coloring to them, but not enough to warrant a second look. The water washed all the dust and dirt that had covered the image, restoring some of its original colors. It was now clear that four small gems rested on each end of the being's arches.

There was the bright flash of lighting, followed the thunderous roar of thunder. There was a glow, a flash from the figure's jade eyes. Another bright lighting flashed, illuminating the surroundings entirely, followed by another loud thunder roar.

Edgar's right talon suddenly twitched ever so slightly.

October 14, 2018. 12:56 am

Unknown location

Olivia

I was now standing in a bright white void, endless and eternal. Next to me was the giant man I now knew was Chadron, figure greatly contrasting against the white backdrop. I looked around, suddenly realizing that I had full control of my body once more. I looked at Chadron, hate already rising in my heart. He was the one responsible for all the grief; he was the one who had ordered Ragde killed. I glared at him, thinking of hundreds of way-most of which I had learned from Edgar-to hurt him. He placed his hands behind his back, turned away from me, and walked in a steady pace.

Now was the perfect time to strike, to deliver the same amount of pain he had delivered to all of us. He wasn't paying attention, and I was more than ready to hurt him… I took one step ahead, hands glowing with ebony energy.

"What is reality?" Chadron suddenly spoke out, catching me completely off guard. "What is a dream? Is there any kind of difference between the two?" He cleared his throat and continued. "As an intelligent being, you have the capability to reason, to think about reality and all its implications." He turned to face me; eyes causing me to freeze on the spot. "Like I mentioned just a few seconds ago, what is real and what is not?" He stopped and turned to face me. "For example," he pulled out an apple from somewhere behind is back, "is this apple real?" He gently tossed the fruit at me. I dispersed the energy in my hands and caught the apple, looking at it carefully. To me, the thing looked just like an ordinary apple. "Is it a fake?" Chadron asked.

I again looked at the piece of fruit, but to my great shock, the innocent apple had turned into a bloodied heart, freshly ripped off of someone's chest. I staggered back, dropping the grim object into the ground, where it exploded into a pool of innocent water. I looked back up at Chadron, who had crossed his arms. "You see, we all believe what we see because that is how we have been raised, not just as individuals, but also as a civilization. We see an apple, and automatically, we believe it to be an apple. None of us ever stops to wonder if what we see is actually what it is." He walks up to the puddle, and reaches his hand into it, slowly pulling out a fresh apple. "Just because this looks like an apple, does not mean it is." He shows it to me and the tosses the fruit with great force, hitting the ground with a soft thud. Suddenly, the piece of fruit explodes, scattering pulp in every direction. "What we feel, sense, and see is often a lie, a decoy for what things really are." He turned to face me once more, eyes studying me closer than ever before. "This applies to us all as well." He crossed his arms. "So I'll ask you this: do you know who you are?"

"Yes," I pessimistically replied, "I am Olivia Dubois, and that I am sure of."

"Olivia Dubois?" Chadron chuckled. "I don't mean your identity; I mean your very existence." He leaned over. "Do you know who you are?"

"I…" I chocked. I thought I had something, but that turned out to be irrelevant. I looked at Chadron with some resentment. I had no answer to give, and that worried me greatly. Chadron's question, though stupid to me at first, slowly begun to penetrate deep into my very soul. I begun to question everything, for if what Chadron said was true, then my life could be a lie. What if I was indeed something else, something sinister, like the heart, or the apple grenade? What if I was the apple itself? What if I was not even real to begin with? What if… no… it can't be…

"Now you understand what I want to know." Chadron's voice suddenly called out. "Now you understand why your very existence is in question here." He poked my chest with his index finger. "Are you really Olivia Dubois?" he poked me again. "Are you really what you believe to be?" He crossed his arms once more. "This location amplifies all memory based cranial functions. If you want to know of your past, your true past, then this is the best place to do so." He chuckled. "Don't underestimate the power of an epiphany. Work around your fears and doubts. Only then will you uncover your true origins, your true future." Chadron turned around and vanished into the white void far quicker than I could see, leaving me with the kind of fear and worry only felt when faced with undeniable damnation.

I looked down at the ground, head swimming with doubts. What if everything Chadron said was true? What if I didn't even know what I really was? What if everything that I once held to be true was actually a lie?

No, it can't all be a lie… Edgar can't be a lie… he can't.

I sat down, crossed my legs, and quieted my mind as much as I could; I was now determined more than ever before to know about my mysterious past, about those huge black spots in my memory, about Edgar, about my parents, about everything. I had to know, I just had to. I closed my eyes, and started to sing an old song, one that Edgar and I used to listen together when we were both young. I began to softly sing the first few lyrics.

"Is it true what they say? Are we too blind to find a way? Fear of the unknown cloud our hearts today. Come into my world, see trough my eyes, try to understand before we loose what we have." I took a deep breath of air and continued. "We've been dreaming, but who can deny what's the best way of living between the truth and the lies?" I quieted down as memories begun to flood in. I searched them closely, inspecting them for the faintest faults, the smallest of continuity errors, anything that could prove them right or wrong. It didn't take long before I stared in the face of a horrid realization.

All of my memories prior to meeting Edgar at the age of ten were false. My parents were false, my home was false, even my childhood friends were false. Never had I lived in France. Never had I attended a lady's academy, never had I lived in a huge manor, surrounded by human and morph servants of all kinds…. Chadron had been right. To me, it felt like as if I had just entered the mouth of hell itself.

To Be Continued…


	7. What lies within fear

Act one, chapter three: What one hides out of fear

October 16, 2018. 7:00 am

Unknown location

Olivia

I woke up with a start, feeling completely beaten, bruised, and barely conscious. I ran my hand over my head, unable to remember much of anything other than a white void. I looked around the immediate area, realizing I was in some kind of medical suite. I stood up, quite dazed and confused. I half staggered towards the sink, head spinning even more violently than before. I grabbed the ivory marble with my shaking appendage, looking at myself in the mirror with the outmost concern. My eyes were slightly faded, heavy bags hung under. I could see the red veins cutting across my retina, seemingly creating lines and figures where they shouldn't. I turned on the water faucet and tossed some cold water on my face, hoping to clear my head a bit, but the effect was entirely different than what I had expected. Pain shot all over, a deep and unbearable throbbing pain. I held my head hard, afraid that at any moment, I would find myself headless; events from the last couple of days suddenly and quickly begun to fill my once empty cranium, going far past any kind of rational scale. I half collapsed over several shelves of medicine, attempting to gain my lost bearings. I wanted to scream loudly, the pain was just so intense. I finally collapsed on my knees, sight starting to go black. Then, the pain stopped. I raised my head, events from the white void now clearly restored in my brain. I slowly got up, feeling weak and frail. I grabbed hold of the sink, legs seemingly having turned to gelatin. Once I was back on my feet, I half staggered out of the room, eyes barely able to recognize much of anything. I needed to find Chadron, and I needed to know the real truth. Chadron may have killed Ragde, but he was the only one who could possibly know anything about my true identity… I just had to know…

As I half walked, half staggered down the hallway; I bumped into the same Gardevoir from the black room, a being who was my supposed father. He still wore the same white lab coat from the black room, as well as the same white dress-like robe underneath. He took one look at me with a stern and rather annoyed look, obviously peeved over something I may or may not have done. I tried to ignore his jeering expression, and attempted to walk past him as quickly as I could muster. I didn't get too far.

"Took you long enough to wake up." He said in a half detestable/half grievous tone. "Chadron had sent me to get you, but it seems you're now capable of self propelled movement." He scowled. "I still say he should have killed you when he had the chance." He smirked rather cynically. "Oh well, as long as he keeps you out of trouble, I have no complaints." The man adjusted his coat and seemingly floated down the hallway.

"Wait..." I weakly called out. The man stopped and turned around, annoyed look in his face multiplied several times. "Are you really my father?" I asked rather adamantly, looking into his eyes with as much determination as possible.

The man sighed, crossing his arms and looking at me with slight sympathy. "As you probably already have come to suspect, I am your father, but I am also not your father." He smiled rather bitterly. "It's ironic, to think that god may fear us more than we fear him." He laughed, "I finally understand why he chooses to hide. God can create life as well as destroy it, a power once believed to be solely reserved for him and his fellow deities." He chuckled softly and rather maliciously. "We however, all have the capability to create and destroy life today." He turned to face me with intrigue, "what does that make us huh?"

"Uh…"

"You see…" the Gardevoir continued, "In the end, we are all nothing but cosmic abortions; abominations that act like a plague, a cancer; a disease with only one possible cure…" He frowned, "I think you know what cure I speak of; I know you know Olivia… you always seemed to know deep down inside. Something you learned from the other side of the gate."

"What do you mean 'the other side of the gate'?" I asked, fearful and shocked of what it could mean. The man merely snorted loudly and kept going forward. "You want to know so badly?" he grumpily spoke, "then go and ask Chadron, he should be finished with that ghost friend of yours by now." he tuned away from me, scorn still present. "When you do talk to him, tell him Ronac's going out for a long walk and won't be back for a while." The man grumbled and stood in place. He turned to face me, eyes shinning with empathy. "One more thing; sorry to hear what happened to that boyfriend of yours." He smiled. "Not all hope is lost however. If anyone can save his soul from the damnation that befell it, it's you." He smiled even more widely, keeping many things subliminal. "That is, if you don't fall along with him in the process." The man laughed with a rather bizarre mix of wisdom and insanity. With that last action, he vanished with a low hum and a semi bright flash of light. A teleport, something I had yet to master.

I was left all alone in the hallway, heart far more troubled than when I had first woken up that morning. Now, all I had left was madness, a madness that could only be looked at, not understood. I stared ahead with a teary gaze; the long road ahead seemed to taunt me. It seemed like an endless path of confusion and doubt. My desire to know the truth was only matched by the terror I felt in knowing about the answers that awaited me. Part of me wanted to run, to escape, to forget everything that had happened. Part of me wanted things to go back to the way they were, back to the normality I had once dismissed as standard. I wanted to go back to when there was nothing but Edgar and me. I wanted to go back to the days when we could both stare into each other's eyes and know what we felt for each other; to the days when we hadn't needed to speak our hearts, when life was still good. But times had changed. All it took was one misplaced step; an event I had feared and had known would one day come, one that I had lacked both the courage and ability to stop. I still remember Edgar's fear stricken eyes as he lay dying on that hospital bed. I could tell he wanted to tell me how he really felt; something that we both already knew, but had never had the audacity to speak raucously. I saw his life fade away, his existence cease before my eyes. I stood there; simply unable to do anything other than wail, wail like the coward and weakling I am. I have no right to enjoy the gift of life. The more I thought about it, the more it dawned on me, like that little horrible realization you have right before you face death in the face: Edgar hadn't fallen prey to an accident; he had been deliberately attacked, attacked by someone he had trusted. Knowing that truth added fire the third and strongest Part of them all, the one that wanted to find the truth out, to know, to understand. That part was the strongest of the three. Regardless of what fears I harbored deep in my soul, I had to know the real answers, I needed to know, even if I would die due to them.

I breathed heavily, taking stronger strides than before. Chadron's office was some ways down the hallway. I dreaded my encounter with the man. Part of me hated him, for he had ordered Ragde killed. Part of me needed him, for he seemed to be the only bastion of truth and sanity left in this world. I wanted to believe, believe that maybe, just maybe, Chadron was on my side, even though deep down I knew he wasn't. He was just another roadblock, and a big one at that.

October 16, 2018. 7:02 am

Spear Pillar

The darkness had all vanished now; dawn had all but passed long ago. Sunlight-something that had seemed like a rarity around the parts-had finally managed to find its way trough what few dark clouds still lingered in the sky. Beams of gold light shone like searchlights. It bathed the battered tower, returning life the otherwise stale image of the decrepit spire. With the light came clarity, something that the tower really needed-nay-desired.

In the middle of the void, that now lit void of shadows and lack of consciousness, something moved, something unnatural and quite alive. The entity in question was little more than a glob, a mess of obsidian goo formed into a bubble of unknown liquid composition. The already extraordinary sight was intensified further when one of the wayward sunbeams struck the liquid sphere, piercing it with clarity. The once crimson bubble was lit up like a Christmas light. A creature rested within the effervesce; humanoid and quite conscious. It was huddled, much like an embryo inside its mother's womb. At first, the creature seemed to be dead, for it made no motion. A closer look however, shattered this assumption, for it was clearly snarling and snoring with every breath it took. Every microscopic movement showed more and more of its sentience. It was alive, well, and possessed a head, despite its previous misfortune. The sunlight pierced the bubble further. Details became visible; details that made the creature look utterly alien by all normal standards. Its head was made of bone and bone alone. Its orifice was not an average one, for it instead formed four separate jaws that came together, slightly resembling a camel spider's jaws. Its hair, though it had the appearance of one, was no hair. His strands of long tentacle-like ooze formed something dark, hard, and very much alive. The creature's digits-more like claws of liquid onyx-swayed to and fro, twitching and fidgeting every once in a while, forming strange formations and sings. The creature's eyes-a trio of glowing yellow orbs-seemed to peer past the world of flesh, bone, and marrow. The trio of eyes surveyed their surroundings with apparent intelligence. The creature's mind was deep in thought; so many memories, so many illusions, so many false beginnings… It had plenty to go over, plenty to remember, and plenty to decipher and understand. Eyes suddenly lit with life, head swayed side to side. Hands begun formed into fist; hairs wrapped themselves around the torso and neck. It was a miracle, life occurred at that very instant. Intelligence became deep and very noticeable as the creature opened its jaws, bubbles forming in their wake. Words! Words had just been uttered, words that signified an unquestionable intelligence, one that laid dormant for what seemed like an eternity. The being looked up, past the sunlight and past his hands. It looked at the sky. Its mind was deep in thought, struggling to understand all that it now harbored in its mind. A name suddenly became clear as the sunbeams that bathed its small sanctuary with warmth and life. "E…" It begun to mouth, "E… Ed…" It tried so hard to speak. "Edg…Edga…" it was halfway there; it could already feel the complete thought formed in his black tongue. "Edgar… Edgar…" The being slowly tried to scream, bubbles of obsidian goo forming with every last breath he took.

The sunlight became stronger as more and more clouds quickly vanished away. More sun struck the dark crimson bubble. The creature now knew what his name was; it remembered everything that had happened to him, everything that had yet to happen, things once believed to be lost, and things yet to be found. His name was Edgar, and he had to undo a great evil, a great deception. He had to protect the one he cared for the most, nothing else mattered now.

There was movement, violent movement. He wanted to escape, to be set free upon a world that would most likely fear him, shun his very existence, a world that he needed to protect; even if it could cost him his life. He shifted from side to side, scratching and extending the bubble far beyond its natural bounds. He knew what to do, who to follow, for it was in them that the truth resided, a truth was still partially foggy.

Edgar stretched his hand fully, claw piercing trough the bubble wall as if it was not even there. In a split second, the orb of dark read exploded.

Edgar roared as the once solid sphere of crimson water fell back to the ground, leaving nothing but a deep pool of black red liquid. But Edgar was nowhere to be seen.

There was aloud thud, followed by the cracking sound of broken stone. Edgar had landed elegantly several feet away from his staring destination. As he got up, he stretched his arms and head from side to side, growling and looking at the floor with great interest. He squatted on all fours, sniffing the ground like a dog. He grinned, getting up quickly. "Found you…" he whispered in a low, feral, almost snarl-like tone. He squatted all the way down, nearly hugging the ground. With one massive burst of energy, he leaped into the air, vanishing among what remained of the dark clouds.

His roar could be heard for several miles.

October 16, 2018. 7:03 am

Unknown location

Olivia

After two minutes of blindly moving forward, I finally reach Chadron's 'office'. I looked at the large, out of place wooden double door that kept me separated from a man I had come to loathe deeply, wondering just how on earth I had fallen into this predicament. Half of my being screamed loudly, telling me to bust trough the doors, and kill anyone and anything that got in my way. Kill all, showing neither hesitation nor mercy. Once they were all dead, I would wring my fingers around Chadron's neck, and with the outmost prejudice, proceed to rip open his throat, just like he had done to Ragde… I could already picture it…

I snapped out of it, feeling both guilty and scarred. It's been almost five days since Edgar died, and not a single one has passed in which I haven't been tormented by nightmares. The dreams kept getting worse, escalating far beyond the point of sanity. At first, they started simple; they would usually end with my death. But as of late, the object of death has shifted from me, to others. The dreams have already turned to dark fantasies that plague even my daylight hours.

I know how it all works out, I've read about it far too many times. The dreams always begin at night, while one slumbers. They quickly escalate to full blown nightmares, vivid nightmares. Soon, they begin to invade even one's waking ours, consuming what little sanity one may have left. In the end, one is left completely unable to distinguish between dreams, memories, and reality. Once that happens, you've gone far past the point of salvation. I feared I was already halfway there, especially considering my situation. If my fears of the past happen to be true… if they are true in any form or way...

No, I can't think like that, I can't. I have a past, just like everybody else. My past is good, it's natural, it's normal. I have no need to be afraid, that is what Chadron wants. He's messing with my mind, warping me so that he can have his sick ways with me. Well, I won't let him! I can't let him! Truth or not, I will find out!

I gather my strength, and with one psychic laden push, I cause the double wood doors to fly open rather violently. I take a deep breath of air, waiting for some of the dust to settle. I can see two figures, both of which stare at me with a rather surprised look. One is Chadron; his huge figure is hard to miss. The other however, shocks me slightly, for it is Rasputin, who seems to be fine after all. Last I remember; I saw some of Chadron's grunts drag the poor thing away as it kicked and screamed at the top of its lungs.

I suddenly felt movement behind me. Fearing a sneak attack, I turned, hands already glowing with a dark energy. I took a look at my supposed attackers and lowered my guard; they were only grunts closing the door. I again turned to face Chadron and Rasputin; I turned my face into a deep scowl. I was going to get all the answers I wanted, and nothing would stop me.

"Ah yes, we have been expecting you Olivia." Chadron suddenly called out in a strangely ebullient tone. "I was just talking to your friend here. Boy, does she have a lot to tell you."

"She?" I asked in surprise. I shook my head, becoming angrier than I already was. "I think you're wrong you oversized bastard, Rasputin is a he…" I suddenly paused, considering my answer. "I think…" I said in complete sincerity. It hadn't struck me before, but Rasputin had never really given itself a gender. Most of the time, we referred to the ghost as an 'it' or a 'he', but what if Rasputin was indeed a she? I mean, I always did sense some feminism in its presence. Also, its body shape seems to fit slightly with a female body construct, but I wasn't too sure of that either. To me, all Banettes that weren't morphs looked the same.

I stared into Rasputin's eyes, and suddenly realized that Chadron was not kidding, for the truth was clearly imprinted in its tallow and black eyes. Rasputin was indeed as she.

"Surprised are we?" Chadron suddenly inquired, chuckling slightly. "It's ok, for we all make false assumptions of those who are around us." He placed his hand on Rasputin's shoulder, garnering a slight yelp from her. "Go ahead; tell Olivia here your sad story."

"…Ok…" Rasputin remarked, tone of voice rather fearful. The ghost took a deep breath of air, and exhaled just as sharply. "It all started the day my parents died…"

January 10, 2010. 8:30 am

Jubilife city limits

Rasputin

The day had just started, and I was already feeling bad. I could smell something rather foul in the air, as if I were standing next to a nasty bog or something. What did it mean? I couldn't really tell. I jumped out of bed and flew down the stairs, walking rather than floating. Sometimes I just wished I could float, but my parents always told me not to. I could never understand why. Mother was a Banette just like me, yet she wished that I not show any kind of ghostly powers, especially in public. I understood why father felt that way, after all, he was human. But mother? It made no sense. I made a right turn once I reached the bottom of the stairs, and went into the nearest restroom. I turned on the water faucet and tossed some icy cold water on my face. The water finished waking me up, which was good. I wiped all the water off and looked at myself in the mirror, sighing rather deeply. Here I was; the offspring of two different races-something considered highly taboo. I was part of an entirely new breed of beings, near perfect, above normal in every way and form. I had inherited all the strengths from my parent races, but none of their distinctive weaknesses. When I thought about it, it made perfect sense why mother and father did everything in their power to hide my true heritage. If society knew what I was... if they even suspected the unfathomable about me… I don't even want to think about it. Nobody on the outside world could know of my existence, no one would understand, let alone accept it. Thankfully, lady luck had smiled on me, for despite the fact that I was half human, I did not have any distinctive features; none whatsoever. That kept me relatively safe. I was free to roam the outside, go where I pleased, and do what I pleased. So long as nobody asked or suspected what my true origin was, I was safe. Yeah, I was lucky… lucky…

"Come down quickly!" rang the loud voice of my mother. "It's time for breakfast!"

"Coming mom!" I loudly yelled back, careful to not overdo it. I took one last look in the mirror, face still somewhat wet. So long as nobody knew, I was safe.

Then why did I have this awful feeling, as if things were about to go horribly wrong?

I finished breakfast, rubbing my stomach with delight. Mom's eggs always made my day. She cleared the table of all dishes using her psychic ability, and handed me my school lunch. I thanked her, bottomed up my uniform, and took off to school. I was still early, but I wanted to get there early, that way, I could sit next to my friends.

The day flew by quickly and uneventfully. Ragde and Edgar-two strange looking guys that acted like a pair of Mexican jumping beans-had gotten in yet another scrape after their sparring lesson had gone horribly bad. I of course laughed, not knowing if what I saw was funny, or sad. The fight had been broken off by Olivia, the prettiest girl in the entire school. She didn't say much, but I could tell she had the hugest crush on Edgar, who seemed to be entirely oblivious to it. I suddenly blushed. Edgar was a nice guy, unnaturally strong and intelligent for a kid of ten. He seemed to radiate with a strange aura, something the gym teacher-a slightly precarious and paranoid Lucario-had noticed from the first day of school. He had said, and I quote, "This kid's aura is strong, stronger than any I have ever sensed in a human round' these parts, makes me wonder if he is one of the few that can actually use aura, like those great martial masters from lands far off in the distance. Who knows, maybe this kid is part Lucario himself." He of course had burst into laughter, and so had we all. It was a preposterous idea, Edgar? A half Lucario? Impossible!

…

Deep down however, I felt scarred and sad. Sure, we all joked about it, but I knew the truth, I knew what kind of horrid things they would do to me and my parents if the truth was ever revealed. I had dreams of the terrible things that would happen, vivid nightmares that showed me how unkind the world could be towards the strange and new, towards that which it did not approve of. I placed my backpack on and walked away while everyone laughed. I could tell that my teacher looked at me with great interest.

The school day ended just like every other. Everyone went their ways home. I was about to head back to my house when I was stopped by our gym teacher. He looked at me with a grim visage; it was then that I knew that something was horribly off. He signaled with his hand, telling me to follow him to his office. I of course did, wondering what he had to tell me. Although I was mostly uncertain, one thing was sure beyond any kind of doubt: the talk would have nothing to do with school.

"I know what you are, what you hide young one." The gym teacher begun, setting the mood for things to come. "You aren't just a Banette." he said with concern. I nodded, way too alarmed to speak. He smiled, grabbing my shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry about me, I won't tell anyone your secret. It isn't my right to divulge that." His face suddenly turned a bit serious. "I do have one important duty to accomplish: keep you here safe and sound."

"What?" I asked in a weak voice.

"As we speak, your home is being raided. It seems someone informed Coalition authorities about your secret." The old Lucario looked at me in the eyes; his own filled with deep sorrow. "I'm sorry, but your life is about to change. It is how it's meant to be."

"What?" I said, tears forming in my eyes.

"You are not meant to die in this raid. You aren't meant to die for a long time to come." The Lucario smiled. "Your role in this affair runs deeper than you can imagine… with your life, you will save another, one that the world cannot afford to loose." He stood up and looked at the setting sun. "Without it, the world as we know it would be doomed."

"I don't understand…" I said, feeling confused and scarred, not a good combo to have.

The gym teacher smiled warmly. "Just know this: the time will come when all of this will make sense. Until then, take this." He walked up to me and handed me what looked like a shard of something ceramic and deep blue, almost azure. "Don't go home, there is nothing for you there anymore, only death." he closed my hand and looked into my eyes with a dead serious look. "Your time for retribution will come, but until then, you must hide, you must run, you must survive." There was a loud knock on his office door, followed by banging and deep shouting. "Damn, they found us." The Lucario said out loud. He once again looked at me, eyes filled with alarm. "Run, keep the azure shard hidden, keep it safe. Never let it out of your sight." He pushed me towards the back of his office, towards a high window. He then shut the door, leaving me in darkness.

I head the front door to his office shatter, footsteps echoed in. I pressed myself against the wall, scarred and confused beyond words. I heard a fight suddenly erupt as objects begun to shatter in every possible direction. I heard shouting and cursing, followed by what could one be punches and kicks. I then began to hear shooting, loud as thunder. I flinched with every gunshot.

Suddenly, the gym teacher entered the room he had locked me in, blood clearly splattered on his blue fur and uniform. He seemed to be grabbing hold of his rib, which I noticed was partially exposed. He looked at me with great surprised, for I should have climbed out the window by now. He heard the attackers get close, too close. He shut the door and pressed himself against it, looking at me with great alarm. "RUN!!" He shouted just as the door begun to buckle from all the banging.

I didn't wait for any other words. At that moment, we both understood each other. I quickly climbed the wall, and reached the high window. I stuffed the piece of azure ceramic in my pocket, and harshly yanking the window open, slipped out as quickly as I could, careful to not make a sound.

I landed on the ground hard, but unharmed. As I did, I head the room's door break. It was followed by more shooting and screams of agony. I couldn't tell if any of them belonged to my teacher.

I staggered back a few feet, head still attempting to wrap itself around all the events that had just transpired. The voice in the back of my head begged me to run, so I did, I begun to run at full speed. I jumped the back fence of the school and ran on towards home, ignoring what the old Lucario had just told me. I feared the worst.

I dropped the azure piece of ceramic on the floor, tears swelling in my eyes. I fell on my knees; the pain was too much to bear. Before me was my house, burned to the ground mercilessly. Very little was left, and what had been left was little more than burnt remains. I looked around, and suddenly spotted what I had come to fear the most. Lying on the ground, burned to crisp, were my mother and father, still embraced despite the flames having consumed them both. I walked up towards the smallest of the figures, my mother. I grabbed hold of her hand, now burned into little less than a charred skeleton. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, but I could do neither. How could any of this come to pass? What had I done to deserve such suffering? Who had I done wrong? I… I couldn't tell anymore. I looked at the charred remains of my once peaceful home, anger begun to swell deep within my very being. I wanted to know, to know who had been responsible for destroying all that I had once cherished, all that I had grown to love. I wanted revenge, bloody revenge.

I suddenly heard footsteps; footfalls heralding damnation and death. My anger quickly turned fear, I didn't even think of anything other than survival. I feeling lost, I quickly performed the fist action that came to mind; dive into the nearest bushes. I kept quiet, skin having turned pale. I knew if I was caught… No, I couldn't think of that.

I moved some leaves off the way, creating a tiny spy hole for me to see. Finally, I laid eyes on the men and women responsible for the carnage before me. I saw their faceless visages, shrouded and hidden by helmets and mask. I saw their heavy armors, their larger than life firearms, their desire to destroy anything and everything they deemed to be unholy and impure. I could clearly see their motto imprinted on their jackets, bold red letter for all to see. 'Cleanse the filth'; I was the filth.

I gulped, for I knew well who these people were. I had been warned to fear them, to vilify their very existence. I had had countless nightmares involving them, nightmares in which they came from the shadows to exterminate and destroy. They were like a hurricane, always on the move, unstoppable and utterly destructive with little hope of survival. Now here they were, standing but a few feet away from me, searching for any stranglers, for anyone they may have missed in their first spin.

I had to run, for the purification squads always found their intended targets, always. I grabbed my heart, which pounded against my chest faster than I could ever recall in my life. My breath was raspy but soft, my eyes wide and bloodshot. I wanted to scream, to run; to disappear. I had to run, I had to survive.

One of the soldiers knelt next to the corpse of my father, seemingly interested in something unknown. He or she made a sing with his thumb, moving the ashes, drawing a strange rune. Suddenly, I heard a snapping twig. I looked down and realized with utter horror that I had been the one to make the sound.

The soldier turned to face my direction, soulless eyes staring straight at mine. He or she cocked the weapon in hand and walked up to the bush, my bush. I backed away, fear now having reached its apex. A black gloved hand reached past all the leaves and branches, straight towards me, uncaring and monotone. The soldier then shoved the bushes away slightly violently, revealing my location. The soldier pointed the gun at my face, barrel still warm. I heard thunder suddenly echo all around me. My sight suddenly failed as I the world turned black. Last I remember was hitting the ground, body numb and gone.

October 16, 2018. 7:04 am

Unknown location

Olivia

"You survived though, didn't you?" Chadron asked Rasputin, who had collapsed to the ground, wailing with sorrow. She had chocked in her story the moment she mentioned blacking out. "You wouldn't be here today if you hadn't. You owe your life to someone, don't you?" He cackled, "Wonder what happened to that one person."

As I looked at the young ghost, a sense of great sadness befell me. All this time, I had believed Rasputin to be nothing more than an urchin, a child of the streets. Now, I had no idea what to believe. Unfortunately, Rasputin's tale wasn't entirely responsible for the knot in my gut. No, that actually fell on the fact that she had known Edgar and me at the age of ten, a range of youth that I had absolutely no recollection of. Regardless, I was at least glad, for her story meant one very important thing: the memories of my tenth year of life were not false in any way. It was a huge relief.

"See what I tell you?" Chadron suddenly said loudly. "We all have our dark little past to re-discover." He chuckled. "So long as we are all on equal ground, we are essentially the same."

"What do you mean, 'Equal ground'?" I asked, staring deep into Chadron's emotionless façade, deep into his seemingly dead eyes, his fake fanged mouth, his steel skin. "None of us are on equal ground here!"

Chadron cackled as he pushed Rasputin towards me. I grabbed her as she looked into my eyes. "That's where you are mistaken Olivia Dubois." Chadron said in a rather thunderous tone. "We all have a past that we do not speak off, one that we are either ashamed off, we fear above all else, or we don't even fully understand." He looked at Rasputin and me with his empty gaze. "You have no recollection of anything before being cared for by my traitorous brother." He looked at Rasputin, "and you do not speak of your past due to fear of it. You won't even speak your real birth name." He placed a hand on his chest. "And I did some things in my past that I am not proud of. So much so, I wear this mask so I don't have to face the one being I have come to loathe the most each and every morning." He walked up to us both, hands placed behind his back. "Each and every last one of us here has something hidden. That is what makes us equals; that is why we are all the same."

"NO!" I shouted loudly, "we are not the same!" I got up, facing Chadron's face, despite the fact that it stood almost three feet above me. "You are a murdering warmonger who denied us, denied ME, the right to be with the one I cared for the most in his last moment of existence!" I poked his chest with my index finger. "You are the one who has tortured my mind and spirit, forcing me to doubt my very existence!" I scowled even deeper, fury and rage build up in my body to the point of bursting. "You had Ragde killed, and now you tell me that he was your brother?!" I slammed my fist against his hard chest. "We are not the same, we are NOT!" I again slammed my fist against his chest, eyes blazing with anger, hands glowing with ebony energy.

Chadron kept quiet for a few seconds, but that tranquility was disrupted when he begun to cackle softly. "First of all," he began in an amused tone, "I am not a murdering warmonger. Second, I did not torture your mind in any way or form; I just merely showed you the horrid truth of your very existence." He shoved me aside rather violently. "If that was too strong for you, then it is not my freaking fault." He cracked his neck and walked down the hallway, towards his giant wooden door. "Third, my brother's name is Fael, not Ragde, and I did not kill him." He stopped and turned to face Rasputin and I. "I merely wanted to test his so called 'ability'."

"You lying bastard!" I screamed out with pure disgust. "Rasputin and I saw one of your men perforate his throat with a sword! Then your damn soldier had the audacity to shoot him in the head! Yes, we heard that gunshot!"

"Hmm," Chadron rubbed his chin, eyes shimmering with slight esteem. "You're far more perceptive than I could have imagined." He chuckled; I could tell he sported a smirk underneath his mask. "Maybe you'll consider joining my cause once this mess is all sorted out."

"What mess!?" I screamed loudly, "there is no mess here! All I see is a certain someone who deserves to be killed for all that he has done!"

"Oh yeah?" Chadron asked, crossing his arms with apparent glee, "and who pray tell will make me pay for said crimes?" he pointed at me with his oversized finger, "you?" He laughed. "Please, you're far too weak to even touch me." He shook his head, "come back in a few more decades, and maybe we'll talk about a fair fight. Besides," he pointed at his giant wooden door. "All of your complaints are about to be resolved in, I don't know…" He pulled out a pocket watch, flipped it open, and read the time carefully. "About now…" he said rather calmly and deeply. He closed his pocket watch rather harshly and faced his door with great expectation.

The giant wooden door suddenly exploded, causing me and Rasputin to flinch and cover our faces. We both looked at the entrance the moment the explosion settled, wondering just what could have caused such an imposing effect. Immediately, I noticed that all the soldiers stationed near the door being blown away harshly by the explosion. Many flew quite a distance, landing around the same area as Chadron. Others were blown away only slightly, just a few feet away from the door itself. One thing was constant; the force of the explosion had been enough to knock them all off their feet, including Rasputin and I.

I quickly turned to face Chadron, who by some strange power had remained standing, not a single speck of dust having fallen on him. I could sense something surround him. Was it some kind of force field? I couldn't tell.

I faced the door, eyes stinging from all the dust that had fallen on them. I could see a figure walk trough the cloud of dust. A humanoid figure seemed visible. Something was very familiar about this being…

I hear a yell, a war cry filled with rage and determination. I turn to face Rasputin, who looks just as shocked as I do. We both know who that scream belongs to, but we can't begin to comprehend how it was possible; we had both seen him die with our very eyes.

Ragde jumps out of the dust, sailing trough the air rather quickly and rather bluntly. He lands right in front of us, face bloodied, a huge piece of what looked like a ripped uniform tied around his still bloodied neck. His eyes flared with rage, arms glowing emerald green thanks to his pair of glowing leaf blades, stained with a rainbow of colors. His very breath seemed to be loaded with potent fire, a seeming blaze that would most likely scorch anything and anyone foolish enough to stand in front of it.

I slowly stood up; face most likely plastered with a look of utter disbelief. I could feel my jaw scrape the ground below me, for that is how much shock I truly felt. What my eyes perceived could not be real; it just couldn't be.

"What did I tell you two?" Chadron's voice suddenly rang behind me, "all of your concerns have now officially been resolved." He chuckled, voice and tone more than muffled by his mask. "Fael, I do hope you don't harbor any harsh feelings. I did try to be as polite as I could."

"Polite?" Ragde asked, shocking me even further. "You freaking punched me in the gut, and then had one of your damn grunts kill me!" he pointed with his left at the giant man with his index finger. "And I've got the bullet hole to prove it!" He pointed with is right at a rather nasty looking hole in the dead center of his forehead. "And now you're trying to brainwash Olivia and Rasputin!" He snarled rather feral manner. "You are so screwed!"

"Actually little brother, it is you who might be the one who gets screwed here." Chadron said rather smugly. Ragde wasted no time with his threat. He dashed past me and Rasputin at speeds I had never known could be capable by a Sceptile. He jumped up in the air, hitting the very roof of the hall. He landed violently, somehow keeping his footing intact despite being upside down. With one massive burst of energy, he jumped straight at Chadron's face; blades exposed and ready to slice anything in their way. I looked at the spot where Ragde had pounced from; I noticed the all too visible cracks from his leap. I turned to face Chadron, who didn't even seem to care that Ragde was mere seconds away from taking his head off. Ragde got nearer and nearer with each second; eyes never losing their rage.

I heard Chadron cackle. He shifted his feet slightly and cracked his neck once more. Suddenly, I heard Ragde scream with pain. Something had just struck him in the gut; I could see the clear outline of a fist. Then, there was another grunt from his part, the outline in his stomach having moved to his face. Then there was another loud grunt, but this one was accompanied by a yelp, followed soon after by the sound of breaking concrete. Ragde had hit the floor hard, face bruised and rather bloodied. His breath was quick and rather shallow, but still quite strong. He wasted no time on the floor, quickly recovering, shaking dust off his body. He smiled, blood dripping of his lower lip. "I see you have not lost any of your potency, but you have gotten slower." He chuckled, "have you been neglecting your practice?"

"I have gotten a bit slow, but that is due to this bulky armor." Chadron said rather quickly and bluntly. He stretched his arms, and took a combat pose. "But what I lack in speed I more than make up in power."

"Power is meaningless if you can't hit your opponent." Ragde replied, once more jumping high in the air. This time however, his jump was directed straight at Chadron, not the roof or walls. Ragde lunched his attack, but Chadron was quickly enough to counter it. Both being's fist impacted midair, creating quite a bit of sound. "Not bad Fael." Chadron said smugly, holding onto Ragde's stretched arm. "But you forget that I was always better at blocking and parrying than you." Chadron grabbed hold of Ragde's arm and twisted it rather harshly. Ragde screamed as his arm snapped like a twig. Chadron chuckled, his eyes glowing even more harshly than before.

Ragde grunted; he seemed very unhappy. He twisted his body around and lunched a blow directed at Chadron's face, but he shifted direction at the last moment, instead striking his stomach. Chadron himself grunted in displeasure. He released Ragde's arm and held onto his stomach. Ragde smiled, lunching his next attack, one that actually found its mark. Chadron yelled as his brother's fist made contact with his face, causing a very loud crack. The giant man hit the ground, growling and cursing rather loudly. He however, did not spend too much time down. He quickly recovered and launched a counter attack, managing to strike Ragde across the face. His blow was so strong the Sceptile flew back several feet, a small trail of blood following him all the way. "It seems that you are the one who has gotten sloppy here." Chadron loudly called out just as the Sceptile hit the floor. Ragde quickly got up and wiped the blood of his mouth. "It would only seem that we both are in need of training." He chuckled, "but you are the one who needs it the most."

"I don't think so." Chadron said, as he himself dashed towards Ragde. His armor made many clanking noises, but his actual speed made him near invisible to the average eye. He lunched a punch, followed by a kick, both of which were parried by Ragde with his good arm. He then launched another attack, using some sort of bizarre attack that involved the combination of an open palm attack, and a shot to the right eye with the elbow. This move was dodged by Ragde, rather than parried. Ragde retaliated by lunching an attack of his own, a slice to the arm. Chadron caught the attack, and redirected it to the wall, which exploded due to the force of the attack. Both combatants them jumped away from each other, eyes still locked.

"You've gotten good since we last sparred." Chadron said, "but you have neglected to improve your blow power." Chadron chuckled. "Every single blow you launch feels as if I was being struck by a child. You have gone mellow on me."

"And you've neglected to improve your damn speed." Ragde replied; face filled with strange amusement. "Or is your drastic reductions in speed have to do with that oversized can you call armor?"

"It only appears that way due to your sluggish point of view." Chadron laughed, "You can't even hurt me so long as I have this armor on."

"We'll see about that." Ragde replied with amusement and slight seriousness.

Chadron and Ragde once again went at it once more, lunching punch after punch in rapid succession. Chadron lunched a flurry of blows, while Ragde retaliated with his good arm, his leafy tail, and his legs. Each blow was met by another, sending small waves of air all around. Both beings punched and parried against one another without flaw, much like a choreographed movie fight. I could hear the panting and the puffing, Chadron and Ragde seemed to be both reaching their limits. They both launched one final blow at each other, and then jumped back. Ragde's face and body was drenched in sweat, he breathed like a wild horse. Chadron panted erratically, tone muffled by the mask. I looked into his eyes, which had lost some of their flare. At first, I believed the loss of luminosity was due to a lack of energy, but a closer look revealed the true culprit to be fog, and lots of it. Once more, Ragde and Chadron stared at each other, eyes dead set on their goals. I could hear low snarling, as both eyed each other.

I gulped, feeling a knot deep down in my gut. I turned to face Rasputin, who seemed to be just as anxious as I was. I looked into Ragde and Chadron's eyes, something about them made me feel completely uneasy, for they seemed to be abnormal in every sense of the word. I couldn't begin to describe it, but something about those eyes made me feel scared. I shuddered; it was clear now that these two would not stop fighting until blood had been spilled. And blood would be spilled soon.

To Be Continued…


End file.
